Pups, Kittens, and Baby Birds
by PocketRamblr
Summary: "Bruce, why do you insist on calling the boy 'pup?" Selina asked with distaste. "Kitten would be a much better term of endearment than calling him dog." "No, 'Lina, he means 'pup' as in a 'baby bat', not a 'baby dog.'" Bruce smiled and ruffled the boy's dark hair. "Smart Pup." OR, what happens when Selina was Bruce's date to the circus.
1. Chapter 1

Bruce offered his date the popcorn. Selina smiled, taking a piece. He had decided to take her on another date. After a few business meetings and one luncheon, he still thought he needed to investigate her foundation. It was all very charitable, but some of the donations… did not seem legal. Of course, Selina was a smart and beautiful business woman who was using this as a chance to boost funding and publicity for her company, but most women he 'dated' where also using him for similar reasons. At least she ran a women's shelter, instead of hoping to get new Wayne tech or money for designer dresses out of him.

Of course, Alfred would always point out he never really 'dated' anyone, but Bruce needed to keep the mask of 'Brucie the Playboy Billionaire Who Is Way Too Dumb to Even Be Considered As Batman's Secret Identity' up.

Either way, the public nature of the circus would allow many pictures of the two to circulate, allowing the publicity they both wanted, and the extended time he was sitting next to Selina would allow the small computer in his cuff link to sort through any message or other documents on her phone that seemed illegal. He could sort through anything it caught later at home.

* * *

Selina quietly chewed on the snack, using the time to think. Bruce Wayne seemed to be slowly wrapping around her finger, and given a little time and a few more dates, she was sure she could snag quite a bit of donations from him. She slowly eyed the man up and down. Rich, handsome, liked donating to charities, not too bright, and high-profile. The perfect catch- and she would know, she had done this before. Steeling the hearts- and money- of men was never as exhilarating or as fun as taking gems from a museum, but she was just as good at it. And some of her funding had to have obvious, lawful explanations after all.

"Like what you see?" He asked, raising one eyebrow roguishly.

Selina smirked. "Maybe." She leaned against his arm. She almost stopped- he was ripped. Much more ripped than silly rich boys who weren't known for sports usually were. But it wasn't that weird, maybe Wayne just cared about his health. Wasn't that weird.

The lights went down, and a few performers came out around the ring. Selina watched as one, a clown, juggled scarves.

"I hate clowns."

"I hate clowns."

Selina looked up in surprise. Bruce Wayne's eyes met her own, slightly wider at the fact they had murmured the same thing at the same time.

"Well, we are Gothamites." She murmured as she turned back to the ring, where an old man had stepped out. Wayne chuckled slightly besides her.

* * *

The two watched the acrobats spin around in the air. They really were spectacular, flipping three or four times between the trapeze. A smaller figure jumped in, swinging and tumbling between his parents. The pair below watched in awe of their control, their strength.

The little boy flipped back up onto the platform.

The audience clapped.

The woman twisted, grabbing the man's arms as she fell to his trapeze.

The chains of the swing buckled.

The pair swung back upward.

The chain broke.

The swing fell.

The audience gasped.

The man threw the woman as far up as he could.

The woman reached out her arm.

The other trapeze was too high.

The woman fell.

Two bodies hit the floor.

The audience screamed.

The little boy fell to his knees.

Selina Kyle stood up with the crowd, but fell back on her date.

Bruce Wayne steadied her absently, eyes locked on the bodies.

Then they were moving forward, down the steps, onto the sand.

The little boy was climbing, stumbling down the ladder.

The ringmaster was by them, calling for an ambulance.

Calling for the police.

The little boy stopped by Selina's leg.

"No… Momma… Papa…Momma! Papa! NO!"

The little boy fell forward.

Selina caught him, steadying him on his knees.

Bruce took off his jacket, covering the faces of the acrobats, just as another man had once covered his own parents.

"Look at me Kitten, look at me." Selina said, kneeling down to face the boy. "Shhshhshhhh… just look at me Kitten, look here." She grasped him by the shoulders. He gasped through his sobs.

"No no no no!" Selina pulled him into a hug, keeping his head on the shoulder away from his parents. She rubbed his back.

"Don't look over there, Kitten. Just breath. In and out. In and out. You are all right." She looked up at Bruce. "You will be all right." She amended.

"His parents?" The tall man quietly asked the shaking ring master.

"Yes." Pop Haly muttered.

"Any other family here?"

The other man just shook his head.

Bruce sighed. Of course not. He looked down. The boy had fallen back into tears, still as Selina held him close.

"He shouldn't stay here, not with…" Bruce motioned to the bodies.

"Would you mind just getting him to sit over there?" Pop Haly asked, pointing to the nearest seats. "Don't let him leave the tent… Not until the police arrive. I… I don't know what to do." His shoulders slumped as he blinked back tears.

Bruce only nodded. He touched Selina's shoulder.

"Let's get him over there." He whispered, nodding his head to the stands. She rubbed the boys back, pulling him up.

"Let's sit over here, Kitten." She tried to steer him, but he dug in his heals.

"No… No! I can't," he spun around. "My Mum… Moma!" he tried to get closer, but Bruce blocked him.

"Sh, shhhh. Sport, your mother isn't there anymore. Come over here. No, no, that isn't her. Just take one step, then anther. We'll get there. Shh.. shhh…" he quietly guided the boy, who was stumbling blindly, to the chairs.

Selina turned to Pop Haly. "Is there any place that boy can sleep tonight, here? Or… does he have any family? God-parents?"

"His fam- they had a car on the train. His own little bunk. I don't mind him staying here, with us. But no family. His Ma's family ended up in another circus, but they were killed in a crash. His Pa's family is long gone. They were… the last of the Grayson's."

Selina nodded. With no family, she didn't know if CPS or even the GCPD would allow him to continue living in this circus- he was underage, and not formally schooled, and this was an internationally traveling business. On the other hand- there weren't all that many foster homes in Gotham- and she would know that whatever they were like, it was bad. A couple of good orphanages though, and maybe he could even stay in one of her shelters until a place out of the city was found. As long as he stayed in state, he could be assigned to any foster home. Well, if the police report ever made it out of the city. She sighed, not knowing wat to do. The police or the EMTs- they were coming into the tent now- might want to question him, but what was there to ask? This was just an accident, and he was physically fine.

Looking over, Selina saw that the boy was rocking back and forth under Bruce's arm as the man continued to whisper to him. She walked over and sat on his other side. She draped the cardigan she brought over his shoulders.

Poor little kitten, she thought. You poor little kitten.

* * *

Bruce stared steadily out on the road. The police had taken the boy to the station with them, to find a CPS agent and place for him to stay.

"Pop Haly said he doesn't have any other family." Selina said, her voice hoarse.

Bruce looked over at his passenger seat. "I know." He sighed. "Commissioner Gordon will make sure he's taken care of." He had when it had been Bruce, after all.

Selina nodded. "I know, I just… I think I'll check in on him tomorrow. Make sure."

"Mind… Mind if I join you?" he asks, surprising himself.

Selina hadn't expected that either. "Uh, yeah. I was think around 11, but when are y-"

"11 is fine." Bruce said. "11 is-ah, shoot, I'm going back to the Manor. Sorry, where is your apartment again?" he must have been on auto pilot. Stupid, careless Bruce. He chided himself. Concentrate. You aren't going to have time for a long patrol as it is tonight, and-

"No, no, I… I'm sorry to ask this, Bruce, but can I just crash on your couch tonight? I… I don't want to be in an empty apartment tonight." Not when all she could do was remember how her mother had looked when… or hear her father in all the empty rooms like when she was… She shook her head. "No, sorry, it's all right, I can-"

"Its fine." Bruce interrupted. "No, I understand. I… after tonight… yeah." Smooth, Bruce. Get it together. "You can stay in a guest room, I don't mind." And Alfred wouldn't, especially once Bruce told him about it in the Cave. And there wasn't anyone else in the manor to disturb. Just the ghosts.

"Thank you, Bruce." Selina said, deciding not to argue. This time. She huddled up against the arm rest.

Bruce turned the heater up.


	2. Chapter 2

Selina woke just before 9. They hadn't made it back to Wayne Manor until well after 2 in the morning, and then she had called Megan, asking her to feed Iris and the other cats this morning.

"Not a business meeting." Megan had surmised. "Moving a bit fast, even for Bruce Wayne, aren't you?"

Selina had only sighed. "No, no. nothing like that. There was… an accident at the circus. I'm too tired to ask either he or his butler for a ride. I'll see you in the afternoon." She hung up on her PA and tried to get some sleep.

After she took a shower, she found a small pile of clothes on the guest bed.

"These should be your size, if you would be more comfortable in clean clothes." The note had said.

The slacks and blouse she was wearing was more comfortable than her black evening gown that had doubled as a nightgown -and a handkerchief- last night. Selina smirked, thinking about where, exactly, Bruce Wayne had procured the clothes from. The smiled fell as she folded up the black dress, noting the tear stains on the shoulder.

Downstairs, there where voices in the kitchen.

"Accident then, sir?" the Butler, Pennyworth if she remembered correctly.

"Those types of chains don't snap under such little weight, I looked into-"Bruce Wayne said, cutting off as Selina's footsteps could be heard on the tile in the hall. Huh. She hadn't even noticed she was stepping lightly, Catwoman style, on the stairs.

Yawning widely to cover the fact she had heard them, Selina walked in. "Good morning." She bid, leaning against a counter.

"Morning." Bruce said from his place across the kitchen, sipping coffee and glancing over the Gotham Gazette.

"Would you like some tea or coffee, Miss Kyle?" Pennyworth asked.

"Coffee would be nice, thank you Mr-"

"Just Alfred, please, Miss Kyle. Creamer?"

"Yes. And just call me Selina."

"Of course, Miss Selina." He said, handing her the mug. Selina looked over at the third man, who mouthed over his butler's shoulder:

'He's British.'

Hiding her laugh in her cup, Selina just mused over the two men. Bruce seemed interested in the newspaper, but given the discussion she had overheard coming in, he hadn't been. She thought over the words. Bruce Wayne had looked into what chains and wires trapeze where made with trying to find a reason for what had happened last night.

"How do you like your eggs, Miss Selina?" Alfred asked.

"Just fried is fine, thank you."

Why? Well, not a hard question. They had just seen two people die. Bruce Wayne was rich, and not from Selina's part of Gotham. Death wasn't common place. He must have been struck, needed a reason or an explanation. Something that would make the little boy on the ground crying easier to think about. Something that could be fixed, prevented.

Selina didn't blame him. But, she figured in a few weeks he would be over it, letting it be someone else's problem. He might fund another orphanage, donate to a home. Hmm, maybe he would be interested in an idea she had for one with children who needed service animals.

Although, the fact that he had looked into it last night betrayed a bit of, well, a bit of intelligence, diligence not often associated with the man. She shrugged it off. He might be a bit of a dunce, but he ran a large business, he had to be used to research and the like. It wasn't like he stayed in some mancave all day then partied every night.

* * *

Alfred had insisted on driving them, once he and Selina decided to just head to the police department before dropping her off at home. That wasn't unusual, and it gave Bruce me time to think. The acrobats' deaths where not an accident. He had investigated it last night- and the chains he had seen they used could safely support 20 such performers before a hint of a strain. But the chains last night had been damaged- he had hacked into the camera feed, and realizes there were signs of corrosive damage on the chains. And not the corrosive dance fun rust or years of use- last night's performance video had shown the chains where perfectly fine. So, either someone had switched out the trapeze sets or they had purposely damaged it.

Either way, it was looking like foul play.

Which meant someone had purposefully orphaned that little boy.

Richard Grayson, he reminded himself. According to some flyers, this weekend was his first performance on the trapeze.

He wondered if the boy had been so excited to fly between his parents, if he had loved trusting them to keep him safe, if he was reeling from the loss of all he had in this world.

Bruce had, and he had had a lot more in the world than the little circus bird did.

A family, a home, an entire way of life snatched from the boy.

The least he could do was make sure whoever has taken it was brought to justice. That's why, in case it was someone in the circus, he had gathered evidence what evidence he could and prepped it for the FBI, as the circus was leaving town tonight.

But Bruce didn't think it was- there weren't any other jealous aerialists who could have wanted the spot, or cases of any members acting violently requires anytime, least of all their fellow performers.

Which meant it was probably a Gothamite, leaving Batman the opportunity to do what he needed to.

* * *

Selina stayed a bit behind her companion as they entered the building. She didn't know the commissioner like Bruce Wayne apparently did, and while she knew him it was more in a 'Don't Get Caught By This Man As You Are Cat Burgling' way. And Gordon didn't know that either, so it was safer to hang back.

They caught Commissioner Gordon just outside his office, filling up on coffee.

"Morning, Jim."

"Oh, Bruce! What brings you here today?" the red-haired man seemed surprised, but not unwelcome of the man's presence. Well, he was the reason he was commissioner after all, all those donations and campaigning help.

"I actually just wanted to check on a boy, Richard Grayson, he-"

"The boy from the circus." Gordon nodded. "That's right, you where there last night. His social worker took him to a temp home last night, and is actually coming by soon to get any documents or records. Why?" He raised an eyebrow, and seemed to expect the offer of a donation or scholarship or whatever Wayne tended to give to young orphans.

"I was interested in making him a-"

They were interrupted by a woman turning the corner. "Commissioner Gordon." She called.

Speak of the devil. "Ah, Ms. Green." He turned to the other two. "This is Ms. Green, the social worker. Ms. Green, this is Mr. Bruce Wayne and Ms. Kyle."

Selina frowned, she hadn't introduced herself to the man, but it wasn't unusual for people to have heard of her… she mentally shrugged it off, and smiled at the woman, offering her hand.

"Pleasure." She said.

"Commissioner, I dropped Richard off at his new home this morning, I'm here for any records and belongings." She reminded him.

"Ms. Green, if you don't mind, could you tell us where Richard is currently staying?" Selina asked.

The social worker's eyes darkened. "I don't tell strangers where children live, ma'am."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I run Kyle Foundations, we have several shelters and if it could help, we'd also be fine with paying for his schooling if needed." Selina smiled, trying to look non-threateningly. She didn't know why she offered, but she knew she would follow through.

"Oh. Well, thank you for your offer, but we've already placed him in a home. Now, Commissioner-"

"Excuse me," Bruce stepped forward, beaming. "the Martha Wayne Foundation was also interested in his case, and I'd like to offer our assistance in anything he needs." He gave the woman a card, and she tucked it away, smiling back.

"That's very generous of you, Mr. Wayne." She smiled back at him. Wait, so he got a smile and she had just been glared at? Selina mused, cursing the position of only being a _moderately_ rich and beautiful CEO.

The commissioner pulled Ms. Green into the office, and the door closed. Selina waited a moment, then put her ear to the door knob.

"What are you doing?" the man behind her asked.

"Listening in." She said shortly.

"We're in the middle of a police office!" he hissed.

"Selina rolled her eyes. "Then watch for anyone coming, Mister Wayne. I want to find out where the boy is, don't you?"

Bruce sighed, but did step back. Selina put her ear back on the door. it was muffled, something about a new address, but then she heard a slam.

"A detention center?" the Commissioner's angry voice drifted softly into the hall.

* * *

Bruce had taken a few steps back, so he could see if anyone was coming- and so he could watch though the window on the door.

"A detention center!" Jim slammed a hand on his desk. The woman moved her arms defensively, hissing something.

"Selina." Bruce asked, frowning. "Who is in a detention center?"

The woman looked up slowly, her face quietly growing furious.

"I think Richard is."

"What? Why would they take him there?" he whispered-yelled.

"I'm trying to find out." Selina said tersely, turning back.

Bruce squinted through the window, trying to read the commissioner's lips. It was always harder when someone had a mustache.

"There has to be somewhere" he made out. Green wasn't facing him, but she just shook her head.

"Then take him to a shelter." Gordon reasoned.

Ugh, why couldn't Green just turn around…

"He's not a criminal!" Gordon said, every inch of his body tense.

The woman said something, waving her hand.

Gordon's eyes widened. "He's 8" he snapped as Selina gasped.

"What did she say?" Bruce demanded.

Selina stood up slowly, eyes going cold. "From what I could make out, _she_ took him to a detention center because all the homes and orphanages in the city are full. They can't legally leave him in a shelter, because of something or another. I'm not sure." Selina took a deep breath. "Gordon was upset they sent him there, its Juvie and it's for 12 and ups. Then that… _woman_ said he was probably a thief anyway, being a gypsy brat in a dirty circus."

Bruce stared. It was possible both Martha Wayne's Homes for Boys where full, but he wasn't sure. But taking the kid to a detention center? That was out of line.

"Why didn't they take him to a home in a different city?" he asked. "As long as he stays in-state"

"Other homes don't want a kid from Gotham." Selina's words where venomous. "Even if he was actually in the circus." She paused. "Especially not."

"He can't live there!" Bruce said, clenching his fist. There had to be somewhere, anywhere else.

"I know!" Selina threw her hands up. "i- wait. How can I fix this? Take him into one of our homes anyway." She asked out loud, pulling out her phone.

"You could convert your shelter, but then you couldn't take in street kids or adults." Bruce said, then blinked. "Why?"

"Shh. Megan. I need to get this kid a home. How do I do it? No, can't stay in a shelter. Quickly, we don't have time for that! What? Well, I guess I could. Fine, I would. Don't act so shocked. He'd have to be a legal ward, huh? Ok. Then get the papers. I'm at the PD, bring them here."

Bruce blinked again. Was Selina Kyle going to take the boy in herself? It was a much, much kinder move than he had expected. Sure, she was charitable, but not the kind of person who would take in children personally. She was too independent for that. Or, she had been. But…

"Selina, wait." He put his hand out.

"What?" she asked, covering the phone's speaker.

"You wouldn't qualify."

Green eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"To be his guardian. You might be able to adopt him. But to take him in as a ward, you'd have to be married. Or a man. They don't let single people take in kids of the opposite sex." At least, he was pretty sure they don't. And if they did, it would take an exorbitant amount of time and effort to convince them that Selina Kyle, known to be flighty and flirty in upper circles, was qualified. Not to mention they would investigate her company, which he hadn't had the chance to confirm or deny his suspicions.

Selina purse her lips. "Wait. Megan. Do I qualify to take in a young boy as my ward? Then find out."

Bruce waited for the answer, watching Selina's face for any news. He wasn't going to let that boy stay in Juvenile Prison for the 'crime' of being orphaned. And if Selina couldn't take him, he would.

The thought almost startled him, but he considered it. When his parents had died, he had been taken in by Alfred. He had a home, some support. He thought about the little boy with his dark hair and big, blue eyes. The tears, the shaking shoulders, so different from his glowing smile and easy flips through the air.

He was going to help this boy. As Batman, as Bruce Wayne, as whatever he needed.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hmm. It would be tough." Megan said. "A long legal battle, at least. Where is the boy now?"

"A detention center. Apparently, all the homes and orphanages are full. But he's only 8!" Selina spat into her phone.

"That would give us a leg up in court. But still, it could take a year or two to get custody."

"He can't stay there for a year, let alone two." Selina muttered. "He could die in there before we get him out." That was a worst-case scenario, to be fair, but the best case wasn't all that great either.

"Well, we could go to court for his right to be taken to a home. A 'People vs Gotham CPS' thing." Megan said. "That would take between 2 to 6 months, and assuming he hasn't gotten himself into trouble at the center by that point, we'd win."

Selina snorted. "Well, you know what they say about assuming."

"Yes, and it's a long shot, but it's the best thing I've got." Megan sighed. "He'd be taken to another foster home in state, but it would be better than here."

"Alright. How would we file for a court case like that?" Selina rubbed her eyes.

"I'll find out. Call you when I do."

Megan hung up, and Selina groaned.

"You're right." She told Bruce. "It would take over a year to make him my ward. But, Megan had an idea. We could sue on his behalf for the right to be taken to another foster home in another city."

Bruce nodded, thinking it through. "How long would that take?"

"Up to six months, but probably less. And he's almost guaranteed to win that case."

"Almost?" Bruce asked.

"As long as he doesn't get himself into trouble there."

Bruce winced. "Selina, what are the chances of an 8-year-old boy _not_ getting into trouble, or at least not blamed for it, in a juvie center filled with 12 to 18-year-old boys?"

They both knew it wasn't good.

"Better than my chances of getting legal custody." Selina bit back, annoyed. He hadn't offered any ideas yet.

He paused. "What are my chances?"

"What?"

"How do I make him my ward?" Bruce asked, slowly. Selina blinked. She had been pleasantly surprised by the fact Bruce Wayne had made his charity this personal, but offering to take the boy in himself. They were both in their mid-twenties, but she… well, was he responsible enough? On the other hand, anything was better than leaving the boy where he was. And Bruce could afford better lawyers than her. Selina let a slow smile grow on her face. She called her PA back.

"Hold on Megan. I've found a different potential guardian for the boy." She looked up at Bruce, who nodded. "How easy do you think it would be for Bruce Wayne to take him in?"

* * *

"Ms. Green." Bruce said, turning from where he had been leaning on the wall, checking his phone. The woman, who looked a bit annoyed as she left the office, smiled tightly.

"Yes, Mr. Wayne?"

"I'd," why was his heart suddenly racing? He felt like he was about to square off against an Arkham inmate, not a short social worker. Just say it, he told himself. "I'd like to take in Richard. Be his legal guardian."

Ms. Green blinked. Gordon's mouth dropped, and Selina smiled at him from over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'd like Richard to be my ward." Bruce said, forcing himself to be casual about this. Or, should he be more serious? this was a pretty serious issue, he reasoned. But would _Bruce Wayne_ see it as such, he asked himself.

"I- I. ok. Um, well, that would take some paper work, you'd need to contact CPS, ." The woman was completely thrown.

"My assistant is bringing the papers here as we speak." Selina spoke up, and Bruce thanked her silently. "I figured we'd be able to contact the necessary people from here, it being a police department." Oh, bless Selina for being able to keep it cool. Or, at least, sarcastically carry herself around authority figures.

"O-of course. I-I'll get my forms from my car." She said, stumbling down the hall in a daze. Bruce almost felt like he wanted to join her.

Jim tapped his shoulder. "Mr. Wayne, are you sure about this?"

 _Absolutely not_. "Of course." He smiled, the let it fall. "I, commissioner, you probably don't remember, but," he broke off, not sure what he wanted to say, not sure what he meant. He sighed. The Commissioner and Selina now both looked concerned. Well, he had to figure this out, fast. Winging it works better than nothing, after all. "But, the night my parents died, you helped me. Figured out how to have Alfred keep me." That was a stretch, it had been dictated in his parents will, that's why he stayed with Alfred. But maybe he wouldn't remember that part. "Commissioner, last night I saw another little boy be orphaned, just… just like I was. And now he's stuck in a blasted detention center, and I'm not going to let that happen." He looked at the man, into his eyes. "I guess I'm passing it forward."

And in that moment, Bruce realized why he was doing this.

Jim's face softened. "I do remember, it was actually my first day here." He shook his head. "Alright, I help you with this. Come on in. "He waved him toward his office, then stopped. "How did you know that Richard was in a detention center?"

Oh. "You shouted at the woman for quite a bit, sir." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure they heard you in the front desk."

Gordon sighed. "Of course. Sorry. Well, there are things ill need to tell you, inside." He looked over at Selina, who nodded and turned away to look at her phone. Bruce was certain she'd be listing at the door once they were inside.

* * *

"You want to know why he was sent to a center." Jim stated as he sat down.

"I was wondering. I hadn't realized that could happen to innocent orphans." Bruce said tightly. Careful, don't be threatening.

The commissioner spread his arms. "Neither did I. Normally, he would be kept in a sanctioned shelter, or sent to foster home."

"Why wasn't he?"

"All the homes in the city are full. And the shelters aren't safe."

"Then why send any children then?" Bruce didn't have to feign that ignorance.

"I mean, it's not safe for Richard specifically. We… Bruce, we think his parents were murdered."

Well, so did he. But Bruce Wayne wouldn't. He jerked back, startled. "Murdered. I don't understand, I was there. The trapeze swing, it broke." Oh good, this meant there was some evidence in police computers. He could add to it if it was someone in the circus, and the FBI would accept it easier.

"Yes." Gordon sighed. "But, it broke because it was tampered with. Because the Grayson's saw something a criminal didn't want them to see." A motive, that was good. Sometimes, he remembered how much good Gordon was doing for the police force. Not enough, but it was better. "and they would seem to be perfectly willing to kill Richard if they found him."

Bruce hadn't considered that. But if the boy was in danger… "That's why you can't keep him in a shelter." That meant the suspect was in Gotham, not a member of the circus.

Jim nodded. "Yes. And… it is difficult to find a foster home in any other city in the state that would take in a kid from Gotham." Especially if he was a circus kid, Bruce mentally added. "Except maybe Bludhaven, and that's even worse." the other man pushed his glasses up. "That's why I had to let them keep Richard in the center. I insisted they keep trying to find another home, but in the meantime, he couldn't be on the street."

"I understand." Bruce said. But I don't like it was left unsaid. Jim nodded in agreement, understanding.

The door opened, and Ms. Green entered, Selina and another woman on her heels. "I- I have my forms."

The third woman raised her own stack. "And I have mine. Ms. Kyle said they were for you, Mr. Wayne." She handed them to him.

Ms. Green cleared her throat, apparently becoming braver as she entered her role. She glanced at the two other women, then the door. Selina smiled.

"You need one more witness. Ah, here." She pointed to a sheet Bruce was already filling out.

The social worker clearly did not appreciate her, but could only shrug. She glared at the blond woman- she must be Megan, Bruce reasoned- who left without a word.

After a few minutes of Ms. Green explaining legal jargon to him, she paused. "We'll have to have a house inspection and background check, when we turn these in."

That would mean leaving the boy in the center for at best a few more days. Bruce looked up at Gordon, hoping to convey his worries silently.

"You can do a house inspection, Ms. Green, correct?" The commissioner asked.

"I can, but-"

"Then why don't you go to Wayne Manor and do that?" Selina smiled sweetly. Too sweetly. "The commissioner and Mr. Wayne can complete the background check and forms here. Then you can all go get Richard and bring him to his new home tonight."

Ms. Green narrowed her eyes. Jim cut in. "A good idea. Ms. Green, could you do that?"

"A member of the household would have to be there. An _adult, permanent_ member." She added, raising an eyebrow at Selina. "Does Ms. Kylee qualify?"

The air in the office thickened. Bruce and Jim stared at each other, then Ms. Green in shock and scandal respectively.

"Ms. Kyle, actually. And no, I do not live with Mr. Wayne." Bruce breathed a sigh of relief at her calmness. "However, Alfred does. Oh, could he take her there?" she asked him.

"Yes, yes he could. I'll take you to him, Ms. Green." Leading the woman to the front of the building where Alfred was waiting- how that man just always knew, he wasn't sure- he made sure to thank her profusely for all her help, how they were all so lucky Richard was placed with such a flexible, smart, caring social worker, and when he closed the car door after her, she almost seemed to be happy about the whole thing again. Bruce scoffed. The woman was just glad for the exposer she would get for placing a ' _dirty gypsy boy'_ with _billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne_.

At least Selina was helping. He spared her a smile as he re-entered the office. Always unfazed, she was. Cool as a cat.

Later, Bruce would find that internal phrasing quite ironic. But at the moment, he was overwhelmed with finishing all the paper work and the background check within the 2 to 3 hours it would take Ms. Green to come back.

* * *

 **AN: thanks for the great response guys, I love all the reviews. also, don't worry, Ms. Green wont get away with it- between Selina's wicked mind and bruce's deep pockets, she'll get her due. :)**

 **anyway, remember to leave a review, and I will see yall soon!**

 **ps I saw Spider-Man and it was pretty awesome. not as good as wonder woman, but solidly a good film. (minus the timeline confusion smh)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Done." Commissioner Gordon said as he signed the last paper. It was one about Bruce never having a criminal record. Selina smiled inwardly. Bruce was right- it would have been much harder to prove her capability of being a parent. Well, if she had ever been caught, it would have, at least. She watched the man, seeing him slouch and sigh. It occurred to Selina that he could have hidden some criminal activity like she had.

She mused on it. What rich kid hadn't had a bad phase, whether it was Rock and Roll or drugs or vandalism? Looking at the commissioner though, she didn't think he could have paid Gordon off if he had. Which means he didn't get caught. But he practically wore his heart on his sleeve. Always chatty, always smiling, always rushing in without thinking.

At least according to high society.

So, she supposed Bruce Wayne was still a mystery.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

The social worker came in.

"Here are his papers and background check." Commissioner Gordon said, handing her the stack and a pen.

"You passed home inspection." The woman told Bruce, then she began reading the stack, signing her name at the bottom of each one. Selina was itching as the woman slowly poured over them. She hoped the woman was just naturally cautions with legalities, but something told her it was a bit more out of spite than obligation.

When she was done, when she was finally done, she put her pen down.

"Congratulations Mr. Wayne. You are now the legal guardian of Richard Grayson. There will be a monthly inspection for the next three months, one at six months, then one every year."

"Great." Bruce sounded exhausted as he stood. He shook Ms. Green's hand. "Can we pick him up now?"

"Yes. I'll take these papers and head to the- the center. Then I can bring him to your house." She faltered, but decided the Bruce could now know legally where the boy had been kept.

"Can I actually come with you to pick him up?" He asked. Smart move, Selina thought. And she didn't want Richard alone with that horrible woman any longer than necessary- which was now zero.

"Of course." Ms. Green said, sounding tired herself.

Selina stood from where she had been leaning on the desk.

"It's time for me to head on home." She smiled at the others.

"Thank you for your help." Bruce said. "I could get you a ride, or call a cab?"

"No thanks. I'll find one myself. Good luck, Bruce." She turned one last time. "And thank you." She added, before striding out the door.

Later, as she told Megan the good news and asked for any business updates, she said: "Oh, Megan. Make sure I have some morning this week clear, I'll need to drop these clothes back off at the mansion." And it would give her an excuse to see the kid.

Megan looked up in confusion.

"Bruce's place." Selina said, then hastily added. "Bruce Wayne's."

Megan nodded, and Selina wondered exactly when he had gone from Mr. Wayne, a potential business partner and possible hot date/ burglary victim to Bruce, a friend. Or at least, an acquaintance she admired.

* * *

Bruce spent the whole ride to the center fidgeting in his seat. Alfred was driving and Ms. Green sat passenger, in the name of chivalry. He wondered if this was the right call. He couldn't take in a kid! He was Batman, he was the protector of Gotham!

Which now included this boy.

But was this the right way to protect him? Bruce didn't know anything about raising a boy. He could be putting him in danger, or pulling him from his only chance at getting another real family.

Bruce was at war with himself until they pulled up to the center. There was barbed wire on the fence. The place looked dead. He made a mental note to check on if the Marth Wayne's Homes where this drab. He hoped not.

Inside was worse. They stopped at the front desk. There wasn't a secretary so much as several guards.

"I need to check out Richard Grayson." Ms. Green said, handing over her ID. "I am his case worker. He was placed here last night, but we have found a new guardian for him. He will need to take all his belongings with him."

The security officer checked her paper work, then nodded at another guy, who stood and left.

* * *

Dick curled up on his bunk squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe if he closed them a bit tighter, he wouldn't be able to see his parents lying on the ground, covered in- oh god.

He choked back a sob. He was out of tears. The other boys in the room- there had only been two of them, at least there was that- had teased him last night. He supposed his late entry had awakened them, and they were upset, but they didn't have to call him such mean names. Or kick him. Or take and hide all of his stuff. And they called _him_ a thief.

After a cold shower- they ran all the hot water while he had tried to find Zitka- and a miserable breakfast- it tasted nothing like either his mother's porridge or his father's omelets- the boys were supposed to study in their rooms for an hour, then get free time in shifts. One outside, one in the library/ computer lab, and one in the rec hall. Dick had hidden in the bathroom while his roommates where picked up, and they contently forgot about him. Now he was curled up on his bed- there wasn't any other place to go, and if he got caught roaming the halls, he'd be in trouble.

Dick didn't want to be in trouble. Trant and John had told him all sorts of horrible things the guards and other boys would do if he got in real trouble.

Dick's stomach rumbled, and he curled tighter abound Zitka. The blankets weren't as comfy at his back on his family's train car. He wondered what would happen to it. Would it be storage? Taken by some other performers?

The tears began to flow.

The door banged open. Dick flew up, looking around.

And angry guard stood in the doorway.

"You're supposed to be in enrichments." He snapped.

"I-I'm sorry sir, I-"

"Get up kid. Get all your stuff, don't leave any of it. There sending you to someone else's place." He crossed his arms and watched as Dick stumbled around the room, stuffing all of his stuff- or what he could find- into his duffle bag.

He was bewildered. The Green Lady had said all the proper orphanages where full, and no foster family wanted to or could take him in. So where was he going?

Taking one last look around the room, he zipped up his bag.

"C'mon, kid." The angry guard sighed. "I haven't got all day."

"Sorry." He muttered, ducking out of the room. He stayed a half step behind the large man, feeling grateful he could at least keep up with his long strides while carrying his bags. It almost reminded him of following his father as they packed up the train. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the image. His parents had always told him fun stories of the histories of places they were going to go. But now they were gone, and he had no idea what type of place was ahead.

The man led him to the lobby, and opened the door to the front part- there was a wall of bars separating it from the rest of the… school? Juvie? He wasn't sure.

In this part of the room, he saw two men standing next to his case worker- Ms. Green. One man looked super old, but he squinted at the other, then gasped. It was the man from last night! The nice man who had consoled him with the nice lady who hugged him.

The adults turned, and Ms. Green smiled. It was not a real smile. "Hello Richard. This is Mr. Wayne, and he has offered to take you in as his ward." He had told her to call him Dick last night. She had not.

"Hello Mister Wayne. Wait, what does 'ward' mean?"

Ms. Green rolled her eyes, but kept smiling. "It means he will be your foster father. You are going to be staying with him."

"Okay." Dick didn't know what else to say.

Ms. Green let her smile drop, but continued in the same patronizing tone. "Say 'Thank you' to Mr. Wayne, Richard."

"Thank you, Mister Wayne."

"It's my pleasure. Would you like to go now?" the man smiled, and it wasn't as big as Ms. Green's, but it looked much nicer.

Dick nodded.

The three adults shepherded him out of the building. Ms. Green picked her smile back up when she turned around, and chatted mindlessly as they walked to a black car. Dick didn't know much about cars, but this looked fancy. Mr. Wayne offered to carry his bag, and they sat in the middle row of seats. Ms. Green was telling the old man, who was driving, about making sure he got to his new home, and liability, and things like that. Dick and Mr. Wayne sat in awkward silence, and Dick watched out the window. They didn't go as far downtown as he had seen last night, and soon there were hardly any buildings at all. The forestry palaces reminded the boy of parts of Europe, but something about the trees seemed darker than those outside of the cities in France or Germany. Maybe Switzerland? It was hard to remember, all the places they had been since their last European tour were starting to blur together. Dick wondered if eventually his memories of the circus itself would. What about his parents?

Thankfully, they pulled around a hill and Dick lost his train of thought and stared in awe at the very large house- a small castle, really, that loomed before them. The driveway was long and lined with trees, but the house was obvious. Dick didn't think he had ever seen anything like it, not in real life. Well, there were a few times his dad would point out a house as they passed in on the train, and talk about how it was a manor or a plantation house or a fortress. But those where always far away. He didn't get to go in!

Dick didn't think he was going to go in to this one, until he realized there wasn't anything else on this road. They pulled up, and Dick hesitantly got out. Mr Wayne joined him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He led him up to the front door, then opened it.

"Welcome to your new home."

* * *

 **AN: yay! Dickie-bird is home! well, he doesn't feel like it is home quite yet, but he will.**

 **and look at Selina, _totally not_ making excuses to hang out with Bruce again...**

 **leave a review if you'd like. oh, and I'm trying to find a good picture for the cover. anyone know any good comic panels or fanart I can ask the artist to use? alternatively, I might just put a baby bat on it. a bat pup, if you will.**


	5. Chapter 5

Selina bit her lip as she pulled up the very long drive way to Wayne Manor. She had the bundle of clothes Bruce had lent her, washed and folded, on the seat next to her. She had called to ask if it was okay if she brought them over. Alfred had told her it was quite all right, but she had insisted.

Now, she was wondering if she was intruding. The little boy- Richard- had only moved here two days ago. Should she let them get situated?

Selina snorted. Why was she so nervous? She had helped this whole thing along, and Bruce didn't mind then. Or hadn't acted like it.

She shook her head. Intruding was kind of what she did, anyway.

Alfred opened the door.

"Hello, Ms. Kyle."

"Hey Alfred. I'm here to give these clothes back."

Richard was hiding behind Alfred's legs. The butler took the bundle, and waved her inside.

"Thank you, Ms. Kyle."

"Thanks for lending them to me- because I know Bruce didn't pick them out."

Alfred's eyes twinkled. "Of course."

Selina took off her sunglasses, and looked down. "Hey Kitten." She greeted the boy, noting he was holding a stuffed elephant.

Richard squinted up at her, then his eyes went wide with recognition. Alfred discreetly nudged him.

"Hello." The boy stepped forward, hand outstretched. "My name is Richard, but you can call me Dick." Selina's smiled widened, but she didn't make any comment.

"Hello Dick. My name is Selina Kyle, but you can just call me Selina." She turned to Alfred. "Is Bruce here?"

"Ah, he is still asleep. But he should be up any minute to down some coffee before heading off to meetings." He motioned to the bundle of clothes in his hand. "I'm going to put these away, if you two will excuse me."

He walked down the hall, and Selina tried to quash the momentary panic of being left alone with the kid. She looked down at him, then away, then back as they both tried to think of something to say.

"So, how are you settling in here?" Well, that wasn't the worse thing she could say.

"Um, okay." The boy shrugged. "Alfred and Bruce are nice, and the house is pretty cool."

It was, Selina saw as she looked around. She had been too stressed out earlier to notice, but the house was truly stunning. She saw many things she wouldn't mind stealing. She shook herself, remembering that Brue was currently a business partner, currently an uncorrupted ally, probably had tight security, and had just taken the kid in.

"So, um, are you Bruce's girlfriend?" Dick asked, and Selina whipped her head back to him in shock.

"Wha- no. Um, no, I am not his girlfriend. Yet." Wait, why had she said that? "I mean, we have been on a few dates, but we aren't exclusive or anything."

"Oh." Dick nodded, though he still looked confused.

"Why? Does he talk about me?" Selina joked, hoping to deescalate the situation.

"Oh, no, it was just, you were both there at… that night, and I just thought. I don't know." He looked down, fiddling with the elephant's legs.

Great, she made it worse. "Oh, kitten." She sighed. "I'm sorry, and I know that won't make it better, but I am sorry."

"Thanks." He muttered.

"So, he doesn't talk about me?" Selina asked, pretending to be hurt.

Dick's lips quirked up a bit. Oh good, it worked. "Um, I think he mentioned a 'brilliant Selina' who helped him get the papers all figured out quickly so he could take me out of the center." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "He kept apologizing for not making sure I was okay sooner."

"'Brilliant', huh? I can live with that." Then she frowned. "And I sorry I didn't do anything sooner either, Dick." She bit her lip, then just asked it. "How was the center?"

"Not great." The boy muttered. Selina nodded. 'Not great' would have well described her own time in a similar place, years ago.

"So, the Manor, what's your favorite parts?"

Dick smiled brightly and suddenly. "Oh, it's so cool, Selina. There's a gym, and a pool, and a library, and I get a whole bathroom attached to my room, and..."

They both cut off as Bruce walked into the hall. He looked exhausted.

* * *

Bruce squinted at Selina. He wasn't upset to see her, it just seemed random for her to be here. He needed coffee to think this through. He had spent several hours on patrol, and several more digging into the case of Dick's parent's murderer.

"Morning Dick, Selina." He said, turning into the kitchen. Wait. It probably wasn't a good idea to leave them unsupervised. Or at least, it would be rude. He walked back into the hall.

"Selina, would you like some coffee?"

"Oh, yes please." She said, walking toward the kitchen.

Alfred would be upset if he gave the kid coffee, Bruce knew that.

"Have you had breakfast yet, Dick?"

The boy grinned. "Yep! Alfred made some French toast, it was really good, with some berries and syrup."

The boy continued on about his breakfast as the adults added creamer to their coffee and sipped it.

"Can I have some coffee too?" Dick asked.

"No." Bruce, Selina, and Alfred all said simultaneously. Selina jumped, not seeing Alfred walk in. Bruce was used to it, and hid his smile behind his mug.

"I was thinking of taking Master Dick out to buy some clothes this morning." The butler said.

"Oh, you don't need to do that." The boy said, looking down.

The adults all looked to each other, not sure how to deal with this. Only Alfred had ever taken care of a child before, and Bruce hadn't been a stranger unused to extravagance.

"I quite insist." Alfred smiled, shepherding the boy out of the room.

"So how are you adjusting?" Selina asked after a few minutes.

Bruce chuckled to himself. "I'm not sure yet, it's a bit too early to tell. He's a good kid." He trailed off, smiling absently. "Yeah, he's a good kid. A bit nervous, doesn't know what to make of all this, and of course we're trying to figure out funeral arrangements."

Selina hadn't even thought of that yet. "What are the plans?"

Bruce couldn't keep his lips from twisting bitterly. "Oh, his social worker was more than happy to talk about it with us. I offered to pay for it so it would turn out properly, not the insensitive anonymous burial the state would pay for. Right now, the plan is for Friday morning." Bruce knew he had been manipulated into that, but he had already decided on it, and he had really just wanted the Green woman to shut up.

It occurred to him Selina might like an invitation, and Dick could use the support if people he actually knew. Bruce remembered all too well how alone he had been at his parent's funeral.

"Would you come? To the funeral?" he asked.

Selina smiled, but it wasn't her usual flirty smirk or wide grin. This was sadder, and reminded Bruce this woman had lived a tragic life of her own climbing he way up from crime alley to CEO. Oh yes, he had done some research.

"Of course." Was all she said.

They sipped their drinks in silence for a few minutes, the Selina put her cup down.

"So, what's your plan?" she asked.

Bruce blinked. Was she talking about the funeral or the investigation or Dick in general or?

"For the social worker." Selina clarified. "You aren't going to let her get off scot-free?"

"I haven't even thought about that." He muttered. "Been a bit busy, and the police are still working on the case, they talked to us about it last night." Well that was half true. Bruce had asked Dick about the man that his family had seen threatening the circus master, but it was for his own investigation.

Selina only nodded. "Well, I could take care of it. Her." The way she looked calculatingly at her empty mug almost made Bruce feel very sorry for Ms. Green. Almost.

"I mean, more than likely Dick isn't the first kid this woman ruined. I'm going to get her sacked, maybe even banned from working with children." Selina said decisively.

Bruce couldn't help another smile.

"Public humiliation will work too, a bit of a warning for others." She added.

"I'll put you in touch with my lawyers if you'd like their help." Bruce grinned. A mental image of Alfred raising an eye made him falter. "Oh, but I'd rather keep Dick out of the spotlight as much as possible…"

Selina sighed. "True, true. Don't want to hurt the boy more. Alright, I'll make sure he isn't brought in, but she is going down."

The wicked little grin that settled on her face as she put on her cat eye sunglasses made Bruce falter as he opened the door for her.

Huh, he thought to himself. Why did that seem so familiar?

* * *

 **AN: I'm back! sorry guys, I wanted to post this like a week ago, but I was traveling a lot. anyway, have some oblivious (and conniving) brulina!**


	6. Chapter 6

"I'd like to make a report on an employee." Selina spoke into the phone. "Yes. Alright."

The woman looked at her computer, where a page on New Jersey Child Services lit her face. She was being directed to another department.

"Alright ma'am, what is the name of the employee?"

"Ana Green." She said, remembering the email she had gotten from one of Bruce's lawyers with some files on the woman.

"Ana Green? Ok, what would you like to report on her?"

Selina took a quick breath, pulling up the file with a few complains she could lobby against the woman. "I'd like to make a complaint on her, as she was blatantly prejudiced against a child in her care on grounds of their ethnicity, and child neglect and endangerment."

There was silence on the other end.

"Um, can you say that again please?"

"Prejudice, child neglect and endangerment." She repeated slowly. According to some of the files the Wayne Lawyers had dug up, Green had in fact placed two other innocent children into juvenile detentions before.

"Oh, um, alright. Um, I'll connect you to my manager.

"No, don't do that." Selina said, trying to be light. "I'd just like her to be reported on it. Tell her supervisor, an investigation, you know, all that." Oh, Green's manager would be told. The lawyer just wanted to get the investigation started in the department. That would give substance to and gut costs on the court case they would file against her later.

"Um, alright. May I have your name?" the poor worker on the other end obviously had no idea what to do.

"No, call it an anonymous tip. Oh, if you need to back it up, call Commissioner Gordon."

"Um, ok. Thank you ma'am."

"Thank you." Selina finished sweetly, then hung up. The lawyer had said he would also file a complaint, and if the commissioner backed them up, they might actually get the investigation going, even if she was stationed in a city as corrupt as Gotham. And if not, when they sued the uninvestigated complaints would raise more doubts about her and her supervisors.

Selina did not like how long it would take to get her revenge, but she also wanted to completely destroy this woman, and that would take some time.

But in the meantime, perhaps it was time for Catwoman to make a nuisance of herself.

* * *

Bruce sat next to Dick on the couch as Commissioner Gordon sat down in a chair across from them. He wondered if he should comfort the boy- this next bit would not be pleasant- but Dick didn't seem distressed, and he wasn't sure how he would have anyway.

The officer had called last night to ask about bringing Dick in for questioning. They were scrounging for any information, and needed to know what the boy knew. Bruce had asked if they could do it at home, where he could be there and Dick would be more comfortable.

Dick hadn't been back at the police office since the night his parents died, and Bruce wanted to keep it that way. No need to keep bringing up bad memories.

Jim had agreed.

"Hello Dick. How have you been?" the man kindly asked. Bruce remembered that the man had a kid of his own, a son if he was right, and it was showing through. Bruce almost wanted to ask the man for advice. Almost.

"Good, I guess." Dick shrugged, kicking his feet slightly as he stroked his toy elephant, who Bruce remembered was named Zitka.

"Right. Well, I have some questions for you." He took a breath. "about last Saturday." He waited, but the boy's wince told him he knew what he meant. "Was there anything unusual that day? Any guests who were particularly rude or threatening, or anyone trying to get in a restricted area or near equipment?"

"Um… well, there were some mean men yelling at Pa Haly Friday night, and a couple of 'em came back the next day." Dick squirmed, looking uncomfortable.

Bruce bit his lip, but patted the boys shoulder.

"Um, yeah. Dad… Dad said…" he started to sniffle.

Eyes widening in panic, Bruce squeezed his shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay chum. If you don't want to-"

"No." he said quickly. Taking a shuddering breath, Dick continued. "No. you guys think someone messed with the trapeze set, and you want to know who."

"Yes." Jim said quietly.

"Okay. My- my Dad said they were harassing Haly 'bout money. I asked if they owned the fairgrounds, and if the circus was behind rent. Dad said no, that they wanted protection money from us cuz they thought we were weak and they were bullies. Mom got worried, told him to stop talking like that. That was Friday." Dick took another breath, squeezing Zitka. "Next day, I was supposed to find mom and dad after turning in my math practice to Mrs. Tully, to start… to start practicing. Uh, they were talking to Pa Haly right outside his office, and I passed two of the men right before the door. They were really mad, and were kinda talking in Italian, I think. Mom told me not to mind them, and Haly was telling Dad that they had handled things like this before, and Dad was agreeing." Dick paused, a bitter twist to his lips. "I didn't think anything of it, 'cuz right after mom told me to head to the swings to start practicing, and I was excited cuz it was… my first show… and now…" the boy trailed off, tears he couldn't hold back anymore running down his cheeks.

Bruce's face fell, and he wrapped his arm over Dick's shoulder, feeling very stiff. Should he hug him or send Jim out or try to get Alfred or-

Dick nestled into his side, gripping the fabric of his shirt. Bruce froze, then slowly moved his other arm around him as well. After a moment, he began to rub his back, and hum quietly. The redhaired man began to put up his files, preparing to take his leave. Getting up slowly, he told Bruce. "I'll call you later, let-"

"No." a muffled voice said. "No, no, no." The men froze, and Dick popped his head up. "thi-this is impor-important." He took a few deep breaths. "Cuz they might be the guys who… who…"

"Ok." Jim sat down again. "Ok. What did they look like?"

"Um, one was shorter, the other was about my dad's height. He was skinnier, had dark hair. Didn't look too old, but had a bit of grey hair and wrinkles. The other guy was a bit tanner. The tall one was wearing a black suit, with a red tie. The other one had a tan suit and a black tie." He scrunched up his face, but shook his head. "I don't remember anything else."

"You said they were 'Kind of' speaking Italian?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, I think it was. They said some words in English. I guess it might have been Spanish, but I felt like it was Italian."

Bruce wondered how this kid knew Italian. What couldn't he do?

"Ok. Did either have glasses, or do you remember their eye color?"

Dick shook his head.

"Ok. Thank you, Dick. You did great today, this is really helpful." Jim reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "I'll see myself out. Thank you, Bruce, Dick."

The man left, and Dick sighed. He was tired. Bruce wondered what he should do.

"How are you feeling, Dick?"

* * *

"How are you feeling, Dick?" Mister Bruce asked him. Dick shrugged, slowly letting go of the man's shirt.

"I dunno" he sighed. "I'm sorry." He looked at the shirt, all wrinkled and wet with his tears and snot. "It's just hard."

"I know, Dick." Mister Bruce sighed.

"Will the police catch the men? The one's that wanted the money and… and messed with the swings?" Dick said after a pause. He hadn't thought about the two men since they passed each other Saturday morning, but now he was beginning to feel something. something he hadn't yet felt, overwhelmed with grief and fear. Anger. Before, he hadn't had anyone to be angry at, but now…

Now he knew that someone had killed his parents. They hadn't just died, it was a person's fault.

And Dick was beginning to become furious with that person.

"Yes." Bruce said. He put his hand on Dick's shoulder. Dick looked up at the man, whose eyes had become serious. "I promise you, the men that did this will come to justice."

Dick nodded. He wondered how Mister Bruce was so certain. This was Gotham. Probably one of the worst cities the circus ever stopped. This was the city that just dumped him in a prison.

"Are you sure?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Yes. They won't hurt you or anyone else ever again."

Dick wasn't worried about himself. He didn't expect the men to come hunting for him. And they had already hurt him. His parents, his family, his life was gone. All stolen by Gotham. If he had been from this city, he might have hope that Batman would stop them. But Dick wasn't a Gothamite yet. He heard some stories of superheroes- mostly Superman and Wonder Woman- but they were bedtimes stories and comic books to him.

Dick didn't know that Batman was searching for the murderer. Dick didn't expect the police to help- they rarely helped the circus- and there wasn't anyone else.

Dick would have to find the men himself if he wanted to make his parents' death right- or as close to right as it could ever be.

"Okay." He said.

Mister Bruce smiled a little bit, then stood. He was awkward again. Dick didn't blame him, he was too. He wasn't sure what to make of the man, apparently kind enough to take him in, but strange enough to avoid him now. But he meant well, and was helping Dick a lot. So, Dick stood, briefly hugged the man's leg, picked Zitka from where she had fallen to the ground, then walked off towards the library. He would need to know a lot more about this city if he was going to find the men.

"Wait." Bruce said, turning back around. Dick wondered if he messed up with the almost hug. "You know Italian?"

Dick blinked. "Oh yeah, a bit. Estelle was teaching me Italian and French. I know 'em both well enough, but English and Romanes I know all the way."

"Wow." Bruce seemed impressed. Dick smiled.

"Do you know any other languages?" he asked, then almost hit himself. Was that rude to ask people outside of the circus?

"A few. Latin, German, Italian, Arabic, and some passing Chinese." He shrugged.

"Cool!" Dick smiled toothily. He wondered what else Mister Bruce liked to do. "I know those languages cuz the circus went everywhere. How do you know all of those?" he asked. Did Mister Bruce like to travel too?

"Well, I went to an old school, Latin was required then. Chinese and Arabic are good to know for business." Bruce offered the answers easily. He was used to the questions, then.

"So, do you travel a lot?" he asked, interested.

Mister Bruce shrugged. "Some."

The two looked at each other for a bit, then Dick flushed. "Thank you, Mister Bruce. I'm going to find Alfred." The British man had mentioned something about cookies earlier.

He turned, but stopped when the man answered. "You can just call me Bruce, kid."

His blush deepened. Mi-Bruce had told him that before, but he kept slipping up. "Right. Sorry, Bruce." He dashed out of the room and headed to the kitchen.

* * *

 **AN: ahhhhh bonding! zitka! Selina ruining racists lives!**

 *****Romanes, or** **Ř** **omani _,_ is the language I headcanon Dick, who is Roma, to know. it is the language spoken by the Rom people in France, where I figure Haly's would have passed through frequently, hence why he is also learning French. **

*****okay, so the entire span of the Roma people is very broad and very complicated, and I'm not Romani. I am trying to make Dick accurate, and I know he isn't Sinti, but beyond that, DC is really vague. they probably don't even know. for the purposes of this story, Dick is Rom-French on his mother's side, and his dad is** **Romanichal (a group of Roma in the UK.) this explains his English surname and his Rom heritage. if you want to be really specific, Dick speaks the _Auvergne Manuš_ dialect of Romanes. **


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn't often sunny in Gotham, and the Friday of the Grayson's funeral was no exception. Grey clouds hung low in the sky over the cemetery, and Selina wondered if that made things better or worse. Selina was wearing a simple black dress and flats, which was about as usual for her as the darkened skies.

She found Bruce and Alfred easily enough. They stood together, behind Dick as the boy gazed at the coffins.

Selina quietly slid in behind Bruce. "Hello." She whispered.

Bruce nodded at her, then let his gaze slip back to the boy. Selina scanned the cemetery, noting that a priest stood with a few other men in suits, and a woman she didn't recognize.

"Who's that." She muttered.

"Jarette Bren. Social worker. Called two nights ago and said she would be temporarily taking over." Bruce whispered, Selina straining to hear him. "I guess Ms. Green is suddenly unavailable."

Selina kept herself from smirking- she was at a funeral and dang it, she would act like it- but she let a bit of pleasure drip into her voice as she shrugged. "I guess so."

They fell into silence, and Selina shifted over so their shoulders bumped. Because it was a bit chilly. Of course.

Her gaze fell back on the coffins. "John Grayson" and "Mary Grayson" were etched into the dark wood. To the left, two tombstones bore matching text, though there were more words underneath she couldn't quite read from this far carved into the smooth grey stone.

The priest and pallbearers came over, followed by the social worker. Dick didn't tear his gaze away from the coffins, seeming not to notice the newcomers. But a fresh wave of trembling shook his shoulders and gave the boy away.

Selina swallowed thickly. She hadn't expected it to be this hard for her. If she and Bruce stepped even closer to each other, while he laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, neither mentioned it.

* * *

The funeral didn't take as long as Dick was expecting. Of course, he didn't really know what to expect, as he hadn't ever gone to one before. Well, the circus had stopped once in a city where a former acrobat, one then in her early nineties, had lived and died after leaving Haly's. Several performers, including his parents, had gone to pay their respects.

But death wasn't a staple of the circus. Most performers didn't stay all the way through their old age, preferring to stay in one place, perhaps with family or friends. If Dick remembers right, he had an aunt named Harriette who lived in France, and had taken care of Dick's grandparents since before he was born. But Dick hadn't seen her in three or four years- after his grandparents had died she hadn't come to see the circus as much when it was in town. He wondered if she had been in touch with his mother, or if they had drifted apart. Dick wondered if he would ever see his circus friends and family again, like Mitch or Estelle. He didn't want to think about it. He might have leaned closer to Mi-Bruce.

Before he knew it, the priest was asking if he or anyone else would like to say a few words. He wanted to say no, he wanted to stay there forever and never have to leave his parents, or what was left of them, in these cold dark boxes in the cold dark ground. But he couldn't leave without saying goodbye. Not like they had.

He took a step forward, and missed the warmth the other two adults had provided. He tried not to think about missing his parent's warmth.

"Mom, Dad. you... You were the best. You taught me about the world, and people. You taught me about God, and the circus. You taught me how to fly." his voice cracked. "I know, wherever you are, its sunny and warm and you... you aren't falling anymore. You are flying. And I wish I could say I want to see you soon, but... I don't know. I don't know a lot, I guess. I don't even know if you can hear me. But I hope you can, and I think that's what matters. So, I want you to know I still love you, and I don't blame you for leaving me." he didn't blame them, at least. A certain wicked Italian hitman, though... well, best not to think of that now, either. "I... I am going to make you proud of me. So, I guess this is goodbye, for now. I'll see you later." With that he took a step back into Selina's legs. A few tears fan down his cheeks, and he rubbed them out of the way. He couldn't close his eyes. He had to see this.

To his surprise, Bruce took a step forward too. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Mary and John. I am sorry that you were taken from your son. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to stop it. But I promise to care for him- he'll have a good live, and God willing, a long one. You'll... you'll have a lot to talk about later. I just hope you know, that even though you could only be here for 8 years, you still raised a good son, a great boy. I know you are proud of him, and I only hope to live up to that. But, I promise I will try."

Bruce took a step back, and Dick looked up at his face. He wasn't sure if there were tears on the older man's face until he tried to surreptitiously wipe one away. But his eyes where steeled, the gentle blue determined. Dick didn't know why, but it made him feel better.

Selina didn't say anything, but she squeezed his shoulder when the large workmen began to lower the coffins into the grave.

The priest handed him some dirt, and Dick looked at it, confused, until he realized what he was meant to do. He stood by the hole, and it seemed so much deeper than 6 feet. It looked like it went on forever and ever, and his parents would fall down and down, always getting further from him. He froze, unable to move his hand.

"You don't have to." Muttered Bruce, placing his hand back on his other shoulder.

Dick swallowed. When had he last drank anything? it was important to stay hydrated in the circus, when you were always moving out and about under the sun. He couldn't remember anything now but his dad offering him a drink, but he couldn't move, couldn't take the cup.

"Dick?" Selina whispered.

Dick swallowed again, then nodded. He let go of the soil, letting it fall onto the coffins below.

Then he began to sob.

* * *

Bruce knelt down next to Dick once the graves where filled, two soft brown mounds interrupting the yellow-green grass. he didn't say anything, just let the boy cry out. the priest dismissed the work men, said a few words to dick- Bruce didn't think the boy understood anything, but he nodded- and then quietly left to leave him some time to grieve. The social worker stood a respectful distance away. Selina moved to talk to her quietly.

After a few minutes, the sobs became a bit dryer, gasps for air and relief. a bit later, those became ragged breaths. The boy was out of tears. That thought stung at Bruce's own eyes. He put his arm on Dick, rubbing circles on his back. It brought back memories, had Jim or Alfred done this when he had lost his own parents? Their funeral was small too, in the private cemetery on the property. There had been some photographers there, but their where kind enough to not intrude until he had left, then grabbed a few shots of the tomb stones and left. They were more polite then. Or perhaps Alfred had just paid them off. Or perhaps he was just remembering a week ago, when he had held Dick with Selina.

Then, they had needed to get the boy away. But now, he would let Dick stay here as long as he needed. Bruce left flowers for his mother every Sunday, perhaps Dick would find comfort in that too.

But for now, he would let him stay here as long as he needed.

Dick shifted, and hugged him. Stiffly, Bruce wrapped his arms around the shaking boy. Should he hold him tighter or should he-

Dick hiccupped, then slowly pulled away. Taking one last shuddering breath, he stood, looking at the tombstones. Selina and Alfred came up behind them as Bruce stood. They were each carrying flowers. White roses and lilies and thick green plants. Each bouquet had one bright blue and red bloom, reminiscent of uniforms for an acrobat. At least, the blue. He hoped Dick wouldn't see blood in the red flowers, like he sometimes did the roses for his mother. On those days, he used pink and white or yellow blooms. Anything but red.

Dick carefully took the flowers, then placed each bundle on the graves. With one last deep sigh, he turned back.

"Let's go." He murmured, barely audible. Bruce nodded, and gently led him out by is shoulder. Once they reached the car, the boy stopped. He turned to Selina and threw his arms around her waist.

"Thanks for coming, 'lina" the boy murmured. Selina smiled- not a smirk, and Bruce caught himself comparing how different she managed to look while still being so lov- Not the time, Bruce.

"Of course, Kitten." She said, running her fingers through his hair. After a moment, she gently pushed him away- Bruce again tried to stop a growing feeling of confusion- how did she that? How was she so good with kids? It didn't make sense, and he wasn't jealous at all. That would be ridiculous. "Get home safe boys." Selina told them all, before turning to go.

Bruce would have watched her until she was out of sight if Alfred hadn't opened his door for him, startling him.

At the manor, Bruce waited to lead Dick up the steps. Once inside, he turned. Dick quickly wrapped his arms around him, then let go before the older man had realized what happened.

"Thanks, Bruce." He said, before walking up to his room.

"Of course, Dick." He made to move to his office, try to get something done today to fight the déjà vu or another double funeral held years ago. He paused at the door to his study, realizing Dick has called him 'Bruce' without prompting. It made him smile, but he wasn't sure why there was an almost bitter shadow to the feeling. Shaking his head, he sat down, and opened the case file on one Antony Zucco.

* * *

 **AN: this took so long to write because it. was. so. depressing.**

 **hope you guys still like the chapter, even if it gave you the feels.**

 **hope to have the next chapter up within a week. I cant wait for proto-robin and batman and catwoman to actually appear in this story lol.**

 **I have been trying to look forward in my writing and figure out how I want to write the other Robins. as you might have noticed, I plan to include Jason in the story. I also want to include Damian and Tim, but that's a bit tricky. if Selina was around since Dick's intro at 8-ish, then Damian's conception via Talia Al Ghul might not happen when Dick is 10 or 11-ish. And if Selina is around, would Jason still die? I don't particularly want him to, as I have always considered Death In the Family to be one of the... less well written arcs, up there with Killing Joke and almost anything Miller wrote. But if Jason doesn't die, how does Tim get introduced? and... Oh light, will Helena Wayne be a thing that happens?**

 ***Cue me banging my head against a table***

 **consolidating 80+ yrs of conflicting comic history into a single functioning timeline is hard enough, now I'm going about and changing things.**

 ***regrets everything but keeps doing it anyway***

 **yeah so thanks for reading this far into my AN, (tho I bet no one did lol) please leave a review or follow if you want more!**

 **thanks y'all!**


	8. Chapter 8

Selina slowly crawled in through the window of one Ana Green's apartment. Rolling to the corner of the room to take stock, she considered her next steps. This had been two and a half weeks in the planning, and she couldn't ruin it now.

By creating an account for the woman on a dating site- not the one she used, but a similar one, she had carefully picked through the absolute worst men on the site. She didn't want someone legitimately dangerous, but someone rude and stupid. Then she had created a fake account for him on Green's sight, and set them up to have a date tonight. On the other side of Gotham. Ideally, she wouldn't be home for an hour to an hour and a half.

Smirking as she stood, Selina congratulated herself on the plan. Using a male alias, she had struck up a friendship with the man- Travis? Willis? Something like that- and she knew he would text 'him' on whether he 'scored'- unlikely- or if Green left early- more likely.

Taking note of any security measures- one to activate if the door opened and one motion sensor in the front living room- Selina slipped into a bedroom. It appeared to be Green's room, given the photo on the desk and the clothes in the closet. She headed first to the desk, and carefully lifted the chair.

Pulling out her switchblade, she carefully began to cut about half an inch off one of the front legs. Sliding the chair back under the desk, she made sure Green wouldn't notice anything strange until she sat down. Then she went back to the closet.

Tucking the end of the chair in her pouch, she pulled out a plastic bottle of glitter. She began methodically pouring a bit into every single pocket in every pair of jeans, jacket, and skirt in the closet. She had read online that glitter was very specific to the manufacturer, and had been used to solve crimes, she made sure to get as little as possible on her gloves and to dispose of the bottle at somewhere not her apartment.

Then she went to the drawers, and messed up the adjustment of the straps on all her bras. The ones that had underwires, she methodically worked to ensure the wire was peeking out just a little, sure to jab Green when she put it on. Then she snipped a single hole in most of her socks and nylons, letting the hose run a bit before returning them to the drawer. She made herself leave the jewelry there- if anything was stolen, the police might actually investigate. If not, though… she did make note though of one bracelet she thought would match a necklace one of her buyers had been particularly happy about.

Taking one last look around the room and deciding she was almost done, she popped open a can of tuna- she had apologized to Iris, telling the cat it was for a good cause and she would buy her more later- and hid the whole can under the mattress. She placed it in the middle, and made sure the lid was only open a third of the way so the stick would come out slowly, not alerting her until tomorrow, maybe even tomorrow night.

Done there, she went to the other bedroom, which seemed to be a guestroom. She rigged the closet door and the drawers with those creepy Halloween decorations of skeletal hands that jumped at you.

She added a myriad of hair colors and bleach to her hair products in the bathroom, and unscrewed most of the hinges of the kitchen cupboards, ensuring none of them would hang strait or close all the way. Then she slipped a second can of tuna- opened again- into the fridge to stink up all of Green's leftovers.

Her plan had also included moving aver piece of furniture in the front room two inches to the side, and hiding the remote, but she didn't want to risk the motion sensor or tipping off Green too early. Satisfied, she crept back out the window, dropped the glitter bottle in a dumpster three streets over, and headed back home.

* * *

Dick didn't know where Bruce went at night. All he knew was last Wednesday he had had a nightmare, but Bruce was neither in his study, the living room, the kitchen, or any of the places he checked. He even shyly checked his bedroom. Alfred wasn't around either, but Dick figured he was probably sleeping or cleaning or driving Bruce around. He knew both men checked on him at about 10:30, and Alfred woke them at 8 if they wasn't already up- he usually was, but Bruce never was.

Figuring the men went away around eleven, he feigned sleep until they checked on him, then waited. He didn't hear them leave or see a car leave, so he nervously waited until 11:30. Deciding to just check, he slowly crept around the manor, checking all the rooms he thought they might be in. finding them nowear, he figured he must have just missed them. Heading back to his room, he pulled on a black hoodie and sweats. Then, he piled pillows under his blanket to mimic his body. He had never snuck out yet, but Mitch had said he had, and that his parents had thought he was in bed when the glanced in.

Opening the window, he took a deep breath. The third floor wasn't very high up, not compared to what he had done before, but it was so dark. He pushed the window close with one foot, the other balanced on the ledge, gripping the top of the window with both hands. Then, he grabbed the bottom ledge and lowered himself to the window below. There was a split second of falling, and he bit his lip to keep from gasping. Turning himself, he pressed his back to the wall. Now, he could jump forward, trying to grab a branch of the closest tree, or he could wrap himself around the nearest pillar and try to slide down like a fireman. He weighed the options, and decided the tree was his best bet.

Pushing off the wall, he reached for the tree-

Then suddenly, it was his mother, reaching, reaching for the other swing, for him

His father, reaching, reaching for his mother, for anything

-he gasped as his hand wrapped around the harsh bark, and he blinked away tears, hand over hand to the trunk of the tree, then lowering himself to the ground.

He knew it would take about twenty minutes to walk to Gotham, and he had about 3 or 4 hours to ensure he got back in time. He had a small bit of cash in his pocket- Bruce had insisted on giving him an allowance on Saturdays- and a pocket knife in things went bad. Taking a deep breath and banishing any more pictures of his parents from his mind- he was doing this for them, he was going to catch their murderer, he was going to make them proud- he began to jog toward the street.

* * *

Batman mentally crossed this location- a warehouse with a likely illegal apartment complex above it- off his list. Only two more to check, and he needed to find Zucco's place. He had been working this case for almost 3 weeks now. It was a Wednesday, Zucco would be rolling out more orders on the weekend, but would be less careful now. The other warehouse was closer than the docks, so he would go there first.

Reaching the other warehouse, Batman paused while inspecting the premises. Someone had definetly been nosing around before him. He had heard nothing about this on the police radio, so it likely wasn't them.

"Penny-1, there seems to be someone else looking for Zucco" he murmured.

Alfred hummed in acknowledgment. " Shall I begin a search for his possible enimies? If a gang war is being stirred up, this could become even messier."

"You do that, I'll- ah, Rhonda is nearby, I'm going to see if she has any intel."

Jumping to the roof of the bar Rhonda was standing by with a blonde woman.

"Did either of you see anyone nosing around that warehouse?" he growled. The blonde woman crossed her arms, but Rhonda just shrugged.

"There was a kid, in a black hoodie, poking around it maybe 10 minutes ago. I thought he might be looking for a place to squat, so I warned him that Zucco's lot would be using that on weekends. He thanked me, then left."

"Did you recognize him?"

"No." Rhonda was being a bit colder- Batman knew if they were alone she would laugh and say she couldn't keep track of all the street kids in the city, but she likely didn't want to compromise her position as his informant to the other woman.

Batman leveled a glare at her- and made a note to apologize later, or at least tip her more. Well, Batman made a note to tip her more (Batman doesn't say thank you, or please. And definitely not Sorry.)

"Did you see where he went?"

Rhonda only pointed east- towards the docks.

He nodded at her- that was almost a thanks, Alfred- and grappled back up to the roof. He quickly went over the fastest route to Zucco's warehouse on the harbor.

Checking around him one last time and seeing no other signs of life from this warehouse, and realizing Rhonda was now alone, the blonde having seen a dark-haired woman she apparently knew and walked off with her, he lightly tossed three fifty dollar bills folded in a clip down to her- she looked up and waved to him.

"He wasn't from our part of town, maybe not even from Gotham, if his accents anything to go by. What, you don't think he is a perp, do ya?"

Batman only shook his head, then disappeared into the night.

* * *

Dick peered around a pile of boxes, looking out toward the harbor. He had found a street kid on park row who had told him Zucco, a man the other boy thought matched Dick's description of the tall Italian man he had seen at Haly's. could be found at the diamond warehouse- and not to ask people specifically for Zucco "ya don't just ask for the big guy, dude. You don't want people thinkin you know or side with him. Even if ya are looking for him."

No one had been there, but he had asked woman nearby, who told him that the other "diamanti e ossa" warehouse in the city, or the one by the docks, might be more likely.

They hadn't been at the other one, but according to another lady, they would be on the weekend.

Dick didn't want to wait for the weekend. Zucco would be even more dangerous then, if the woman was to be believed. Her blonde friend had agreed. He was worried she recognized him, the way she focused on his face, but she seemed to have shrugged it off to answer her phone.

He hid back behind the crates when he heard two men pass. He couldn't make out all the words, but he did hear " _pagamento_." Payment, in Italian. Peeking out, he saw the men continue to his left. He crept after them, staying a row of buildings or trucks behind them, listening.

"- _problemi_?" onw man was asking the other. Problems?

" _Ha perso dei soldi dal circo, ma ci ha solo messo una settimana di ritardo_." Dick furrowed his eyebrows. Something about losing money, a circus, and a week. Yeah, these were definitely Zucco's men. They entered a building.

Dick paused behind a parked semi. He couldn't just walk in after them- he didn't know if Zucco was even in there, and there was a guy who looked like a guard. Dick studied the building. If only there was a way to watch from above, like back at Haly's. then maybe he could see into the tall windows at the top of the building… right across for the warehouse next door! If he could get to the roof, then maybe he could see inside Zucco's lair.

He ran around that building until he found the ladder leading to the roof. Scaling it as quietly as he could- he didn't even think of what happened the last he climbed a ladder this high, he was so focused and excited- he soon reached the roof.

Crouching low, he snuck to the edge. Looking over to the next warehouse, he could just make out some men on a platform by the window. They were joined by the men outside. He couldn't hear anything they said. On man, in a red jacket, kind of looked like he might be the man from the circus.

Suddenly, something crashed through a window on the other side of Zucco's warehouse. The men fled outside of Dick's vision, and a shadow followed them. The guard jumped upwards, then peered into the door, just to be hit by five men running out. Then, to Dick's amazement, they were followed by _Batman._

Dick might not have been immersed in the superhero world at that point, but everyone had at least heard of the Justice League and its members: Superman and Wonder Woman were the most famous, Flash, Aquaman, and Green Lantern weren't doing too badly, and everyone wondered about the Mysterious Batman.

But for Dick, those had been as far away as the celebrities on tv, or Hogwarts. They were out there in the world, but not _his_ world.

No more.

Eyes wide, the boy watched as the Batman flipped on man over his shoulder and into another, then leapt onto another. Dick frowned, realizing two men, and one was The Man, one was definitely The Man who had threatened Haly and his parents, would escape. He watched them disappear behind a building. Frowning, he turned back to Batman, who was standing to follow. Movement behind the large man caught his eye. The guard from earlier, pulling out a gun!

Dick didn't even think, just cupped his hands around his moth and yelled "Batman! Behind you!"

* * *

 **AN: thank you all so much for your responses to last chapter, it really was awesome and I totally didn't tear up at all (just a little...) really, thanks.**

 **Fear not, terrible CPS workers will not be forgotten so easily, especially by Selina. this chapter is no where near the end of Green's troubles. (MWAHAHA) It was a lot of fun to write that first part, and its really nice to have a character to lighten the mood after the funeral chapter.**

 **TRANSLATION OF ITALIAN CONVERSATION: the first man was asking about any "Trouble" or "Problems" Zucco was having. the second man responded "** **He lost money from the circus, but he only put us a week behind." (I don't speak Italian, I'm sorry, I just used a couple of online translators and went for the wording that seemed consistent with all of them.)**

 **I think I have a fully formed plan for ironing out this reality's timeline. I have been searing through (I guess it is retconned now but who cares) comics and I have decided the best strategy for creating time/plot/lines is to not try to shove it all in- just take the pieces you really need, and make up your own stuff to fit in the cracks. Just because Jason has a habit of dying in FAR too many 'cannon' storylines doesn't mean it is a universal constant** **(Although you know what is a cannon universal constant? Dick Grayson just being a cool guy. *****angry side eyes at the nazi-metaphor-elseworld****)** **but I digress...**

 **anyway, I figure I cant create anything more handwavy than "Superboy Prime Punched Reality BC He Thought It Sucked And That CHanged Stuff" although "Miles Morales Gave God A Hamburger" and the "Unicron Singularity" exist too, so maybe in the lens of comic book stories, my explanation and subsequent timeline will make total sense, if a bit more so than usual.**

 **I don't normally do shout outs, but all the reviews and encouragement for the last chapter really were important to me, so I want to thank foxchick1, Doorkeeper, JaggerK, Echoes 01, steelec1, BlueReno16, kalmaegi, and Greensword101 for their reviews. yall really made my day/week/life.**

 **I hope to have the next chapter up in a week, but then things are going to get a little weird. I'm moving tomorrow, to college, and my classes start next Monday. I'm a ball of fear and excitement about all of this- mostly because it all seems incredibly strange and unknown. I WILL NOT abandon this or any other of my uncompleted stories, but update shedules will likely change in the upcoming weeks. hopefully though ill figure out how to make sure it all falls into place.**

 **Thanks again for reading, please follow/fave/review/tell your friends about it or whatever, and have a great week!**


	9. Chapter 9

Batman rolled to the ground, checking behind him. There was a man hiding behind a trash can, gun aimed at him.

 _Bang!_

 _Bang!_

Two missed shots.

He never had the chance to fire the third, being occupied with dodging a punch.

The second punch hit him anyway, and he went down.

Batman scanned for any more threats, then for whoever had tipped him off. A small figure was backing away from the edge of a rooftop. Zucco and another man had disappeared. They could come back with reinforcements or disappear for weeks if he didn't chase them now. But the person on the roof…

He paused at a noise, metal creaking. They were probably climbing down now. Batman dashed around the building.

On the other side, a truck was puling sharply away. Bruce quickly made note of the car's make and license plate. He looked back up at the ladder, where the kid had stopped a third of the way down, peering down at him. Their face was hidden in the shadow of his hoodie. Batman guessed this was the kid Rhonda had told him of. She thought he might be a squatter, but he seemed to be looking for Zucco's gang. Maybe a family member was a part of it and he was trying to track them down? Maybe he was looking to see if he could work for them?

"You should go after them. Don't worry about me." The boy called down. Batman kept his gaze level. This kid had helped him, so he wasn't in Zucco's gang. Maybe he was just a bored kid poking around? But, that didn't add up. And something about his voice…

Batman tried to keep his breathing even when he realized. He took a few steps to get a better view of his face, and found himself looking directly into the eyes of Dick Grayson.

* * *

"Come down here." Batman spoke, voice dark and gruff. Dick's eyes widened. Why wasn't he going after Zucco? Was he in trouble for being here? Probably he thought, climbing carefully down the ladder. It was a bit cool though, that Batman was talking to him. And maybe a little creepy.

He reached the ground and looked up at the man. Well, was he a man? His name was batman, but he was pretty sure he had heard superman wasn't a human, and some of the other league members went either. Of course, no one really knew much about Batman. He had heard someone once say they thought he was a vampire.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Batman asked him. "What are you doing here?" oh yeah, he was in trouble now.

"I-I was looking for Anthony Zucco." _I think_. Dick waited for him to say something, anything, but he just frowned, thinking. Could vampires read minds? The silence was unnerving, and he continued. "He. He killed my parents." Or one of his men did.

Batman sighed.

"How did you find them? Shouldn't you be at home?" his voiced seemed less dark, just ragged.

"Asked around. Some kids and ladies told me about the diamante warehouses."

Batman continued to stare at him, but Dick couldn't think of anything else to say. Of course he should be at home, and he was going to be in trouble if Bruce or Alfred found him gone. He wondered if they would regret taking him in at all. Bruce might send him away. Maybe he would get taken back to the Juvie center, he thought with fear. Maybe could try to stay with Selina instead? Maybe she would take him in. but maybe not. Of course, Batman might just arrest him on the spot and he'd be taken to Juvie anyway.

Batman just shook his head again. "Let's get you home, Dick."

Dick frowned. "No, you have to after them!" Zucco was a killer, couldn't Batman see that taking him down was the most important thing right now? He was Batman, for crying out loud.

But a little voice in Dick's head told them that didn't matter. He had been paying attention to the news, to conversations from the police and CPS. His case was all but dropped. He knew there was a few nice police officers, but this was Gotham. They couldn't afford to actually hunt down Zucco. The nice guys were too busy hunting down killer penguins and crocodiles and clowns (No, that didn't make any sense to Dick either.) and the bad cops used gangs like Zucco to get more money and control. Not to mention, as soon as Dick was deemed to be in a safe home, CPS stopped pressing the PD to find Zucco. Gotham didn't care about his parents, and it certainly didn't care about Dick. Why would Batman?

"I will deal with them later, once you're safe." _And out of the way_ , Dick added silently. He rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't matter, but catching them does! They're killers!" How could a superhero not understand that?

Batman's head tilted ever so slightly to the side as he considered him. Then he spoke again, softer but still with that rough edge. "I know, and I promise you I will deal with them later. But right now, Dick, you need to go home." He reached towards him. Dick flinched away instinctively. Sure, this was a superhero, or at least dressed like him, but he was a bit scary, and- wait.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, edging away. Now that he thought of it, this was the second time Batman had said his name. the first time could have been an anger induced insult, but now, he didn't think so. Dick really, really hoped it was only because Batman did in fact know how to read minds.

The masked man hesitated, then spoke. "Because I'm Batman." He stated.

Dick blinked. That didn't really explain it.

"Let's just get-" Batman started, but Dick took another step back.

"Please don't take me to the Juvenile Center." The words slipped out. Of course, if Batman knew his name, he might know he was staying in Wayne Manor. But Bruce and Alfred would not be pleased either, and the thought of going back to his cell-ish room with taunting boys made his hands shake and his throat go dry.

"I-" a creak of planks silenced the hero, who looked around. Then, before Dick could react, Batman ran toward him, picked him up, then launched them into the air.

Dick felt a comforting rush as he realized they were swinging up on some kind of line, before the feeling ended and they landed on the roof of a warehouse, batman covering him. The man slowly let him go, letting him stand a foot away, but stayed on one knee.

Dick was level with the mask's white eyelenses, but they betrayed little emotion as the man studied him. Then, he raised his arms, and pulled off his mask.

Dick gasped.

Bruce Wayne was kneeling in front of him, in Batman's suit, brows furrowed in thought.

* * *

Dick gasped, and Bruce didn't blame him. He was surprised at himself. He had just shown an eight-year-old boy his biggest secret- a secret only three other people were privy to, and two of those were founding league members.

Light, Alfred was going to kill him.

"You're Batman." Dick whispered. "I- holy bolt from the blue, you're Batman?!"

Batm-Bruce just nodded.

"Wow. I ju- I don't… this is- well, I don't… just…wow." Dick fished for words, and Bruce just listened as he stuttered faster than even Barry Allen could. Heavens knew _he_ didn't have any words to explain it. "Wow." Dick repeated. "I just… that's so cool!" the boy finished.

Bruce blinked. Even if he had had the words, that probably wasn't one of them.

"Wait- is that why you were going after Zucco?" Dick asked.

 _Oh thank Diana, a question he could actually answer._

"Yes." He murmured. "Yes, that's why I was after Zucco."

There was a look on the boy's face he didn't quite recognize. Not gratitude or admiration, but something along those lines, mixed with shock. Dick began to smile, then faltered. "I'm sorry. Please don't send me back to the Center."

Bruce blinked again. How many terrible shocking things were going to happen tonight?

"What? No, no, you aren't going back to the center, Dick."

The smile returned.

"We're going back home, Dick."

It fell again.

"You can't be serious." Bruce said, confused. Dick had said the same thing before he knew who Batman was, but surly he didn't think Bruce would leave him on a roof to chase after Zucco. "I'm taking you back home, we can talk there-"

"That's not as important as catching Zucco!" Dick argued. "He- he… we have to find him."

 _Not as important?_ Dick's insistence on finding the man was understandable, but it was beginning to worry him. Maybe he understood it too well. "Dick, I promise you I will find him later. But right now, the _most_ important thing is to get you home safely."

The boy folded his arms in frustration. "Bruce, he killed my parents! He murdered them! You have to do something, but he's getting away and-"

"And I wouldn't be able to find him tonight if I tried." He interrupted. It wasn't completely true, but it was likely, and besides, he couldn't try anyway. "Right now, he's heading toward a safe house. I have an idea of where it might be, but all of them would be on high alert tonight. Once we get back home I'll run a scan, figure out exactly where he is and the best time to attack. Which means I should head home anyway, and you are coming with me."

Dick hesitated, obviously trying to find an argument against Bruce's mostly true reasoning. Then he deflated. "All right." He paused. "I'm sorry. For sneaking out."

Bruce sighed. "Yeah. We'll talk about that tomorrow. Right now, we need to get you back in bed before Alfred kills us both."

Dick smiled a little bit at that. Bruce almost let himself too, but he pulled his cowl on instead. Standing, he pulled out his grapple gun and scooped up the boy. "Hold on." He whispered. "And be very quiet." Then he jumped off the roof.

* * *

"So, where are we?" the blond woman asked her friend in a hushed whisper.

The dark-haired woman shrugged. "Gotham?"

"Obviously. You knew what I meant."

"Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood, Karen."

The blonde sighed. "Right. But seriously, where are we?"

"Not Earth Prime, or 3. That's all I can really rule out."

"You think we are on Earth 1 again?"

"Maybe. Really, right now we need to figure out _when_ we are."

"You already know, don't you?" at her friend's raised eyebrow, the woman snorted. "You got that same look on your face you get when you figure something out and don't want to tell me."

"Well, kinda. Right, you know how when we went to Earth 1 I had never been born or whatever?"

"How could I forget?"

"Right, but not everything was different. My mom and dad were alive… if, um, very different."

"I got you." Karen said quickly, hoping to spare her friend.

"But one thing that was the same, well, was Dick."

Karen blinked. "Excuse me?"

She slapped Karen on the shoulder. "Not like that. Dick Grayson. Nightwing?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, you mean how Bruce picked him up and made him Robin before you in both worlds?"

"Well, I don't exist in one of them, but yes, that's what I mean."

"So, your saying we could be in a couple of different worlds, but you can't tell because the different parts haven't happened yet."

"Exactly." The dark-haired woman groaned. "For all we know, we might have only time traveled and I just haven't been born yet."

"No, I don't think so. The BoomTubes have never done that before." Karen tried to comfort.

"True, but, well, we just don't know."

Karen didn't have anything to say to that for a while. Then, two blocks down, she stopped suddenly.

"Wait, how do you know?"

"What?"

"How do you know the thing that makes the worlds different hasn't happened yet?"

"Oh, right, um, just a hunch I guess." The woman might have been convinced to anyone else, but her heart rate sped up a bit and Karen knew she never tried to figure out a case based on a hunch. Karen's unimpressed face made her sigh. "Fine. Because the night Dick Grayson finds out about, ya know, Batman he sneaks out to try and find his parents' killer alone. At least, according to the stories he told me growing up he did. And tonight-"

"You saw him?" Karen accused.

"I saw him. And he wanted to know where Zucco would be."

"You interacted with him? Krypton's ashes girl, do you want to create a paradox?" Karen swore.

"Keep your voice down!" the other woman hissed. "I am not creating a paradox because literally every Dick Grayson becomes Robin like this. If I didn't tell him, someone would have."

"Wait. Dick Grayson, he'd be a kid right now, right?" Karen said slowly.

"Yeah. He's about this tall, running around in black sweats and a hoodie."

Karen groaned.

"You saw him too?"

"Yes, I saw him. When I was hanging with that informant chick, Rhonda. She saw him snooping round a warehouse and called him over. Mentioned Zucco."

"See? He would have found Zucco anyway. Or, Batman would have found him finding Zucco anyway. Whatever. The point is, we need to find a place to make camp. We can try the BoomTubes again tomorrow."

"Right." Ibn had given them something that had fallen into their world during the Crisis, and given Karen had the most experience with BoomTubes, asked her to return it to its world. "Remind me again which world we are actually supposed to be in?"

"Um, Earth 12. Their Batman needs it."

Karen sighed. "And why did he want you to take it then?"

"Relax, E12's Batman is some guy named Terry McGinnes, not my dad. Er, not anymore, at least."

"Whatever you say, Helena." Karen was starting to not care.

* * *

Selina smiled at Alfred as she sat at the table. Selina had wanted to run some things by Bruce and Alfred had suggested she come over for tea on Friday.

"Why not?" she heard a high voice complain from another room.

"Too dangerous, you know that Dick." Bruce answered.

"That doesn't stop you."

"I'm not eight years old."

"I can do it!"

"That doesn't mean that you should, or that I should let you!"

"Bruce, C'mon. Please." The boy importuned. Selina didn't hear anything but a door close and an angry huff. She glanced at Alfred.

"Master Bruce and Master Dick are disagreeing about proper hobbies for a young man. When are you planning for that Foundation Party to be held?"

"In about a month and a half, on a Friday." She answered. She wondered what hobbies in particular they were wondering about. Did Dick want to continue with circus acrobatics? No, he had said Bruce did it. Bruce's hobbies weren't completely secret, he ran a business and held parties and probably slept around. Though, that last one probably didn't apply to Dick- she hoped not. He was eight. Maybe he wanted to go to some gala or another and Bruce didn't want to subject the boy to that yet. She could understand that, but she knew he eventually would have to be in public eventually.

Dick stomped around the corner, then stopped when he saw them. "Hi Selina!" he bid, lighting up.

"Hey Kitten. How've you been?"

Dick shrugged. "Pretty good." He moved to take a cookie from the plate in the center of the table.

Alfred coughed sharply and Dick froze. "You are still grounded for the rest of the weekend, Master Dick."

Dick sighed, looking to Selina for help. She quickly hid her amused smirk and gave him a shrug. Sorry kit, can't help you with that one.

"There are apple slices in the kitchen, Master Dick, and if you would like to add a bit of the caramel dip from the fridge, I can't complain with you helping get rid of leftovers." Alfred said levelly, pretending not to notice the boy get excited again.

"Thanks Alfie!" he said, hurrying into the kitchen.

Selina laughed. The conversation turned from party planning to legal affairs then what type of education Dick would receive come the end of summer. Selina wondered about the fight she had overheard, but once she decided it wasn't as if Dick wanted to pick up any habits like drugs- which she didn't think Bruce engaged in anyway- or galivanting around rooftops in animal themed costumes breaking laws- which she did do, but the idea either boy ever would too was laughable- Selina let the thought slip back into her mind to be forgotten.

* * *

 **AN: and that, dear readers, is called "dramatic irony"**

 **well, the first day of college didn't kill me (lol but all the reading assignments might as well have) I'm actually feeling pretty good about most of my classes (knock on wood) but its deffinetly something I'm going to have to get used to. I miss home a lot, but I think I can learn to love living up here too.**

 **Anyway, looks like Dick is in the know now! is Selina going to uncover the secret soon?**

 **don't worry, I haven't forgotten Ms. Green- she still has a lot coming to her, and it will be much worse than a glitter bomb. also, Dick is obviously going to have to convince Bruce to let him be a hero, and if he gets ground into a pulp the first, oh, year probably, Bruce would bench him forever.**

 **I mean, he'll eventually be traumatized and tortured by a cruel universe that keeps killing his family and friends, but that wont be for a while.**

 **also, you might be able to begin to see how I'm stitching the time line together. don't worry, Karen and Helena won't be the end all be all of the explanation, but I thought adding a bit of cannon-messing-up-the-multiverse-people might be interesting. they also might be growing on me a lot as I write them... maybe a spin off fic once this one is done? idk.**

 **anyway, thanks for reading, fav/follow/review if you liked it, and ill hopefully see you in a week. as for me, I need to finish at least one more reading assignment before tomorrow.**


	10. Chapter 10

Dick was not happy. At first, it was _soooo cool_ that Bruce was Batman. He was a hero! He was super smart, and saved lots of people, and was on the Justice League. He was going to help him find Zucco!

Except not really. Because Bruce didn't want help at all. It was too dangerous. Batman works alone. He was just a kid.

Dick snorted. Right. You know what else is dangerous? Jumping from one elephant to another. Dancing with fire. Petting a tiger. The trapeze. And he had been doing all of that since he was a little kid!

And _Batman_ didn't seem to have any problems working with the League or Alfred, and Bruce went to a lot of company meetings and works with Mr. Fox and Alfred and even Selina!

He just didn't want to work with him.

Dick put down the book he was reading with a sigh. He couldn't even enjoy Robin Hood right now!

"Why such a long sigh, Master Dick?" Alfred asked, appearing from nowhere. Dick wondered if he taught Bruce how to do that. Then he remembered he was mad at Bruce, and decided he didn't care.

"Is Selina gone?" he asked instead.

"Yes, she left a few minutes ago."

"Bruce is a jerk." Dick told Alfred, totally not whining.

"And why do you say that?"

Dick sighed an even longer sigh. "Because, Alfred, he's Batman, and he won't even let me help him. This is the guy who killed my mom and dad we're talking about here! You'd think a superhero would want more people who want to take down bad guys, not less."

"Speaking of that, it would probably be helpful to said 'superhero' activities if you and Master Bruce would not loudly discuss it while we have guests." The butler chastised.

Dick crossed his arms. "Well, it's a good thing he doesn't want me to help with that, isn't it?"

Alfred paused from dusting the bookshelves, turned a bit, and raised one eyebrow. Dick winced.

"Sorry." He muttered.

Alfred returned to dusting.

"Oh, we'll need to take you out to school on Monday for pre-testing."

"What?"

"Gotham Preparatory requires new students to take an entrance test. Don't worry, its just so they know where you are and what you need to work on."

Dick looked down. He hadn't ever been to a real school before. What if he did so poorly on the test the school didn't want him? What if Bruce realized he didn't want Dick as batman or anywhere else. He knew that Bruce probably wouldn't send him back to the Center, but… well, as angry as he was with the man, he didn't want to leave.

Alfred put his hand on his shoulder.

"You really don't need to worry about the test, Master Dick. Just do your best, and everything will fall into place."

"If you say so, Alfred." Dick tried to return to his book, but then realized he had been reading the same sentence over and over again. "Alfred?"

"Yes, Master Dick?"

"Um, why, um…" the boy had too many questions and no way to ask any of them should he ask about Batman, or school, or why he wasn't enough, or how he could be enough, or if he should start studying for the test, or-

Alfred kept a steady gaze on him. Dick flustered then blurted out:

"Why is Bruce Batman?"

The butler turned quickly, but Dick had seen his face fall a bit before it was obscured.

"Master Bruce… well, I cannot answer that. You would need to ask him."

"Ask me what?" Bruce asked from the doorway. Dick whipped around, but was glad he didn't jump.

* * *

Bruce had been going to pick up a book of Wayne finances from the library- Lucas had asked for it, wanting to double check after a systems update- when he heard his young ward ask Alfred:

"Why is Bruce Batman?"

He stopped sharply, just outside the door.

Of course. He hadn't really told Dick why he did what he did every night, why he knew the dangers of the darkest part of Gotham. Why he understood the boy. What he had lost. But how could he say any of that? How could he explain why he was Batman? He just… was.

Bruce remembered something from a few years ago. The second time he had met Diana. She had asked something similar- but used her lasso. Clark had answered, gave his name openly. He, on the other hand, had simply said "I'm Batman." It had been enough. Well, perhaps the lasso helped her understand it more- he knew Clark had rolled his eyes. Said something about being more trusting. Like it was supposed to be easy to trust the two most powerful people on earth.

(Deep down, he did trust them. It was hard not to, when you had seen into their hearts with the help of a goddess's perfect. But he didn't trust himself- his mind, yes. But his self? Hell no.)

"You would need to ask him." Alfred was saying.

"Ask me what?" Bruce asked lightly, learning into the doorframe. Even if he didn't want to talk about that to a kid- didn't know how, really- he did need to get that book.

They both sharply turned to him.

"Well? Ask me what?" he repeated, walking into the room.

He made sure to pass in front of the couch Dick was sitting on. He looked back to Alfred, who had slightly narrowed his eyes at him, not accusing, but in a 'what are you doing, master Bruce?' sort of way.

"Why… I mean, I was wondering… Bruce, why are you Batman?" Dick asked in a rush.

The question wasn't any easier to answer the second time. Bruce didn't know if he could tell him why, but Dick's eyes were earnest. He almost reminded Bruce of Diana or Clark.

Great, if Alfred realized this, he would absolutely tell him to see a therapist about trying to recreate his lost family in his new friends. (It wasn't like that, Alfred. Diana's eyes aren't anything like his mothers, Clark's laugh not near his fathers. They are something else, something them. Something he needs now, not something he needed then.)

But now Dick needs him now, he thought. And if the boy was going to stay up at night wondering why he was out protecting Gotham, he should know why.

Well, maybe not all of it, (did he even know all of it?) but some. (Some of what he did know.)

He sat down heavily on a couch across from Dick.

"The thing you have to understand, Dick, is I lost my parents when I was your age." He began. Light, this would be a long day.

* * *

Ana was annoyed when Mark called her into his office. She remembered two weeks ago, the last time she had been by Mark's office. Someone had filled a complaint against her- something about child endangerment or discrimination. It didn't matter- Mark had asked her about it, they decided it was no big deal, and he said he would take care of it. The next day, he called to say that a second complaint would have her off the Wayne's kid's case, but that she should still be fine. She was moved to checking on some girls' foster homes. Not the biggest money maker, but not likely to get her killed by some gang or another either. But while work had been okay, everything else was crashing. Someone had broken into her apartment to prank her, she hadn't been sleeping well, and every guy she tried to go on a date with recently was even more of a wierdo or a cad than normal. She bitterly thought about taking Mark up on his offer- it would probably break one of HR's rules, but she could at least get something.

"You wanted to talk to me, Mark?" she asked, opening the door to his office.

"Yes, Ana." He waved her to sit. "It's another complaint." Well he just cut right to the chase. Probably wouldn't repeat his offer then, she thought.

"Another?" she asked. "Who is it this time?" the last few times had been some anonymous tippers.

"Don't know, claimed to be a lawyer."

"Oh," Ana hadn't ever gotten a complaint from a lawyer before. On the other hand, this was Gotham, so it probably wasn't actually a lawyer- and anyone actually dangerous would just tell them. "So?"

"You haven't actually pissed off anyone who would get a lawyer, right?"

"Of course not."

Mark leveled a look at her. "Not even Wayne?"

"What? No, he was glad I could get him the kid so quickly. His woman didn't like me, but he never seemed upset."

"His woman?"

"Some pushy lady. Don't even think they're together, I think she runs one of his charities. Could it be anyone else I've worked with?"

Mark shrugged. "I didn't think so. I mean, a person hiring a lawyer over a kid's custody could happen, but just for complaints? I mean, it's more likely than 'haven, but…"

"It's probably nothing." Ana finished.

"Yep. Well, thanks for coming in."

"See you later." She said, but she couldn't shake the nervous feeling as she left the room.

* * *

 **AN: if you are exhausted from school clap your hands! *Clap Clap!* if you're stressed out all the time clap your hands!*Clap Clap!* if school is killing you slowly and your writing schedule shows it- if school is killing you slowly clap your hands! *Clap Clap!***

 **anyway, school is tiring me, but it doesn't totally suck. I enjoy most classes, its just all the reading and writing you have to do that slowly deprives you of sleep and jumps up and down on your heart. (also, every person who told me attendance didn't matter in college has apparently lied. 4 of my 6 profs have daily attendance quizzes that form a good chunk of our grades (Like, between 20-33%). (The other grades are from essays and exams.)**

 **so I have found pockets of time to write, and I still will, so that's good. though, I am still trying to find a job, and that might later affect my schedule. I'm hoping this will be about the longest between updates though.**

 **anyway, dick and bruce are kinda actually communicating, which is nice. (wonder how long that will last...) and Green begins to have the next phase of her troubles.**

 **thanks for all of your reviews and support guys, it really motivates keep writing.**


	11. Chapter 11

"So, that's why you… do what you do." Dick said solemnly once Bruce had finished his story. It had been sad, but Bruce had been able to do so much despite that! Or maybe even because of it! He had traveled the world and become a superhero and saved so many people- heck, he hadn't even gotten to the part with the justice league, and how they had saved the world three years ago. But there was something in it all, Dick thought, in using something bad to bring about so much goodness. Something in it that made him want to join more than anything.

"Yes." The older man agreed. "That's why I do it."

"I want to help." Dick said before he thought.

Bruce's eyes narrowed. "It's too dangerous out there, Dick. We've talked about it. My final answer is n-"

"Not out there!" Dick quickly interrupted. "I just want to… help you." It was kind of true. Did Dick want to go back out there, swing from rooftop to rooftop, help Batman? Oh yeah. But was Bruce going to let him? Apparently not. So, Dick would help in any way he could- then worm his way into being out there with Bruce. He'd come up with a plan.

Somehow.

Or maybe he would just sneak out again. But he would try to come up with a plan first.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked slowly.

"Well, Alfred helps you without being in the action." He pointed out. And, to be fair, dick would probably do much better in the field than the butler, being younger and more flexible.

Alfred caught the boy's eyes, and Dick took back his last thought.

"True…" Bruce frowned. "But Alfred has extensive medical and strategic training."

Dick sighed heavily. "Then train me too." Was that not the obvious next step to anyone over the age of- how old was Bruce? He decided to go with anyone over the age of 20.

Bruce hesitated. Dick wondered if he had ever seen him do that before. "I- we'll see. Let me think about it."

The boy couldn't keep himself from grinning. "Thank you Bruce!" he threw his arms around the man's middle. The man stiffly patted his back.

"I said I'll think about it." Bruce repeated awkwardly. He stood up slowly. "I have to get back to work, I'll see you both tonight."

* * *

Selina needed a break from planning her fundraising gala. She stretched, closing an email about venues. It was getting late, and the summer sky was fading from dark haze to a night-black. She stood and moved to the window. It was getting late, and she was itching to go out again. There wasn't anything cat themed currently in any of the museums, she kept tabs on those, but perhaps something else. After a few searches, she found a beautiful antique ring and would at the very least get her a nice amount on the black market. Or maybe she would keep it. She could decide when she saw if it fit. She pulled out her black leather suit, and began to change.

* * *

The ring did fit, Selina thought happily as she tried it on the roof.

"Meow." She muttered, holding it up to the light. It could catch a pretty penny, or she could keep it. She would have to reset it thou, so it wasn't obvious she was wearing a stolen heirloom. That would also make it look less like an engagement ring. She tucked it in her pouch to decide later, along with a few necklaces and a bracelet that had caught her eye.

Looking out from the building, she decided to head eastward, to her setter and agent when she heard something behind her. Peeking over her shoulder, she froze.

Fricken' Batman was behind her, dropping to the roof next to the one she was on. Ok, this probably wasn't about her. Just in case though, she swung down onto the lower roof, and ran half a block of rooftops, eventually ducking behind a stack of crates.

She looked behind her, checking to see if- oh, really? Surely batman was not actually chasing her down.

He was.

Fabulous. She couldn't go forward, there would be too many higher buildings that she couldn't get over fast enough. And she could get too easily trapped to the right. She began a running start for the building on her left. Toward the docks then.

Checking behind her, she saw Batman was still chasing her. Despite herself, she grinned. This was new, but quite fun.

* * *

Dick's eyes were wide as he and Alfred watched batman's location on a large computer screen. On another, the camera on his cowl broadcast a video of what he could see. On yet another, smaller one Alfred was coming through files of criminals in order to identify the cat burglar batman was chasing.

"There are a few reports of a cat burglar in the last few months." Alfred reported into his microphone. "I'm searching them for pictures- two could be her. In both, she steals cat themed jewels and artifacts, so she probably did a few of these others… hmm, she didn't seem to target this one for that reason though."

Batman grunted, thinking.

Dick slowly rolled his seat over to an unused screen, looking at the other cat based robberies. In all but one, additional things had been stolen. She was partial to cats, but liked other things. He looked at the non-cat thefts. Two had been solved and one had a picture that clearly wasn't the woman Bru- Batman was chasing. But one had a picture she definitely was in. He showed it to Alfred, who nodded at him.

"While drawn to cat artifacts, it seems she just cares about profitable items." Alfred told Batman. "Many of the things she stole we have recovered elsewhere- except the cat things." He looked at Dick's list.

"Cats are her passion, but the other stuff is her job." Dick. "Maybe it funds her cat hobbies."

Alfred relayed that as well. Batman still only grunted. He was at the docks now, surveying ships. The cat burglar seemed to have hidden in one.

"The one with the yellow stripe." Dick muttered. Batman couldn't hear him, but hid behind a crate opposite it. Dick grinned.

* * *

Selina held her breath as she hid between the crates on the cargo ship. A she watched batman come closer to her ship, then disappeared from view. She turned a bit, pursing her lips. He didn't walk pass the ship, and he wasn't coming closer to it. She leaned out a bit from the box, seeing if she could see if he was leaving. Still, nothing. Well, she couldn't very well run from someone if she didn't know where they were!

She decided it was probably safe to creep further back through the crates. She only made it past a few stacks before a flicker of shadow behind her caught her attention. She leapt to the side, and heard batman step in. she crept around the closest stack, watching carefully. once she figured she was a bit behind him, she sprinted toward the end of the ship- port? Aft? She didn't know anything about ships- near the docks. When she got far enough, she leapt onto the shortest stack of crates at the end, pulling herself on top, the standing very carefully. Batman walked- how was he so fast? - to the bottom of the stack, looking up at her.

"Hello, Batman." She called down, deliberately calm. "Slow night, I take it? If you're after little old me?"

He didn't answer- Selina knew he was trying to figure out how to reach her without toppling the tower of creates. Keeping eye contact, she carefully began to clime up the stack next to her. One more stack and she would be at the height the rest of the boxes were stacked too. She would have enough room to run across them. Of course, batman would have the room to come after her if she did leave the first stack. Well, she could stay there all night. Suddenly hurrying, she climbed the last boxes and began running over the boxes- all the way across the ship. Then, steeling herself, she jumped and leapt to the next boat over.

* * *

Batman's eyes widened- he had used his grapple gun a moment after she sprinted over the boxes. But he hadn't expected her to jump ship. From his highly precarious position, he could see that she hadn't quite made it across the gap, but had caught the edge and was now pulling herself over. All right then, at least this would be easier than fishing her out of the water. He grappled over the gap, landing on the deck several yards in front of her.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." She purred at him, but her body was tense, ready to bolt. He stepped closer, but she didn't move away. Yet.

"Nothing? Did I accidentally grab your tongue? You can have that back."

Closer.

"Hmm, you're the strong, silent type, then?"

Closer, then he grabbed her arms, looping a pair of his special handcuffs around them. She looked down at them, then back up at him. Her eyes were hidden behind the thick green lenses, but he had the distinct impression she was rolling her eyes.

Then she threw herself onto him.

Batman readjusted quickly, attempting to shove her off, but her arms around his neck where tight and her lips were very persistent. He broke the kiss, but she still stood up against him, staring.

"You should probably do that before you cuff the next girl you see. Oh, and maybe ask for her name." She smirked, pushing his chest with one hand.

Wait, one hand?

He grabbed it, but the other hand had apparently snagged a smoke pellet from his belt- or maybe hers?- and snapped it in his face. He was temporarily stunned, reeling bac from the dark powder.

A few steps and some waving cleared the air. He looked around, and saw that she was running down the gangplank. He hurried to catch up.

Off the ship.

Onto the docks.

Around the warehouse-

A small sack went flying at his face, he caught it instinctively.

Opening it slightly, he realized the jewels the cat burglar had stolen were inside. Frown deepening, Batman looked around, trying to follow her.

"Any visual, Penny 1?" he asked quietly, without moving his mouth.

"No." was the level answer. "Will you pursue or return the jewels?"

He didn't answer verbally, but after grappling up the ware house yielded no clue to where she had gone, he decided to return the jewels to the shop. Besides, he knew she would turn up again, and it wasn't like she was the most dangerous criminal in Gotham.

Funny, how he would turn out to be very, very wrong.

* * *

 **AN: IM NOT DEAD! Sorry for the longs time between updates guys. life has been... a lot. lets just say between school, doctor appts, work, more school, and more doctors appointments, finding the time to write is touguh, esp bc I average out to being a pretty slow writer.**

 **On that note though, I'd like to thank foxchick1 for asking me about this fic earlier this week, which motivated me to have it up by last night. then ffnet wouldn't let me upload, buts its here now! also would like to thank JaggerK and BlueReno16 for reviewing the last chapter.**

 **updates might still be a bit eratic guys. I'm hoping to have one more chapter up before my surgery in about a week and a half, but I also want to post one more chapter on my sw fic. (of course, it is now wildly non canon compliant but eh I never really cared.) And I have no idea how my surgery will affect my schedule. might have a lot more time to write, might be too in pain or high on pain meds to write anything coherent.**

 **eh. itle be fine. thanks again for reading!**


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